Life is good around our house. We’ve lived here for a year and a half and I think we’re finally starting to feel like we’ve done every project that we’ve wanted to do. Since the start of the year, Eric has painted and rearranged all of the kids’ bedrooms and we’ve done some redecorating in a few of the rooms. Our project list gets smaller and smaller each week.

Now that we’ve gotten all of that work taken care of, I need to start really focusing on some new meals on a more frequent basis. We’ve been eating a lot of our old favorites lately, and while no one is complaining, I’m really itching to get back to spending more time working on new recipes.

This dish originally started out as sauteed veggies, but as they were cooking, I decided to mix things up a bit for a new side dish. It turned out to be the perfect accompaniment to the Parmesan Chicken Fingers we had for dinner and I think it would go great with a lot of other meals too. In fact, it’s robust and flavorful enough that it could easily serve as a main course too. I’m definitely excited to make this again in the future. I’m thinking I’d like to make some on a Sunday night and then eat it for lunch for the next few days. It would be perfect for that.

Very Veggie Pasta

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 12 oz. bag frozen French-style green beans, thawed
• 1 t. salt
• 1 t. oregano
• 1 t. dried basil
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1/2 lb. cooked pasta

1. Heat olive oil and add mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, until the start to brown. Add sliced pepper, green beans and seasonings and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.

2. Add cooked pasta and stir to combine well. Enjoy!