Writing Fuel: Oops! I Forgot Dinner

We've all been there: got in the middle of a really good part in your story, look up five hours later and you have your family staring down at you Avenger style: you forgot to make dinner! *cough* NaNoWriMo syndrome *cough*

Insert Pasta Rustica (don't ask how we came up with the name. I don't remember). This is a recipe I've developed over the years for when stuff like this happens or if I don't want to spend a long time making dinner. It's one of my go-to dinners when I'm in a time crunch. It's delicious, a little odd, and my entire family loves it. I usually have the things I need to make it on hand at all times, so I just have to throw it together.

Even if this dinner isn't something you'd enjoy, I encourage you to find several recipes that you can throw together without too much hassle. It reduces stress come dinnertime when you have no idea what you're going to make. The key is to have the ingredients on hand so that whenever you need a quick dinner, it's all ready to go.

~Pasta Rustica ~

Ingredients:

1 Kielbasa cut into small pieces. I've replaced this with sliced chicken, ground beef, meatballs, or a mixture of any of the above. 

1 package of bell peppers, cut into bite-sized pieces. Usually, I get those packages at Walmart or Aldi where they have three peppers and I use those. If you can't find that, just use whatever bell peppers you have on hand. 

2 jars of pasta sauce. I usually use some sort of tomato basil, but you can use whatever you'd like. 

1 box of pasta. You can use whatever kind of small pasta you like. I don't recommend that you use anything like spaghetti or linguini. It doesn't really work with the textures in this recipe. I usually go with something gluten-free.

Optional: cut up leafy greens. I'm sure you could throw in some spinach or kale if you really want something nutritious, but I'm almost certain my family would riot if I did that. So I don't. I just thought I might throw it out there in case that's something you're interested. 

Directions:

1. Sautee your kielbasa over medium heat until browned. Boil the water for your pasta in the meantime. 

2. Add your peppers to the kielbasa and continue sauteeing until they're soft. Go ahead and boil your pasta too. 

3. Add the drained pasta and sauce to the pepper/kielbasa mixture and stir gently. You can add in the green veggies if you want. Let everything heat through, then serve! I usually top mine with a generous amount of parmesan cheese.

So there you have it! A super easy dinner to throw together, just in time for Camp NaNo round two!

What are some of your favorite quick dinners? If you have recipe links, please leave them below! I love finding new recipes to make that don't take a lot of time!!