I was a bit perplexed as to what to make for dinner tonight. Dennis was going to be at his men’s softball game (the Fast & Furious has their first game for the fall season tonight. They’ll be playing The Motrin Men, what fun!). Kylie has been babysitting all week so she hasn’t been home for dinner. It was going to be just me. I wasn’t sure if I should just open a can of tuna to serve with crackers, make a peanut butter sandwich, or make myself a dinner I could blog about. I chose the third option, making a dinner to share with all of you. I’m so glad I did! It was really tasty and didn’t take more than 15 minutes to make. It is actually something I would consider making for guests. If you keep these simple ingredients in the pantry, you could definitely throw this dish together at the last minute for a quick week-night dinner or if unexpected guests happen to stop by. You could definitely impress them with this quick and easy supper.

I decided I’d make a pasta dish using a can of anchovies I had in the pantry and a half jar of sun-dried tomatoes I had left over from my lunch a couple days ago. I knew Dennis wouldn’t be gung-ho on the anchovies, Kylie either, so thought this would be the perfect night to try this recipe. Truth be told, I bet they wouldn’t even be able to tell there were anchovies in this dish. Giada once said that people don’t always notice anchovies in a dish, but they bring a nice saltiness. This is exactly what happened for me tonight.

First I boiled my mostaccioli noodles and while those were coming to a boil I started on my sauce. I heated 1/4 cup of olive oil in a sauté pan and added two cloves of garlic that I’d smashed and two anchovy filets that I had minced. I didn’t want to mince my garlic, I liked the idea of smashing them for this dish and having a bit bigger chunk of garlic (a more rustic feel, I would say).

To the pan, I then added a 1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes in oil and a healthy dose of red pepper flakes and just a pinch of kosher salt. I don’t want to over salt this dish because of the saltiness in the anchovies.

By now, my noodles were done boiling, so I added them directly to the sauce. Once the noodles were in my sauté pan, I added 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan.

I then mixed the noodles and cheese into the sauce.

I toasted bread crumbs in a tablespoon of olive oil to add to the top of my pasta. I then added fresh basil and another dash of red pepper flakes before serving.

I’m truly happy that I decided to make myself a nice little dinner tonight instead of settling for a peanut butter sandwich. This meal, truthfully, took 15 minutes to make. I have enough left over that I will be sending this to work with Dennis for his lunch tomorrow. We’ll see if he even notices the anchovies. I bet he doesn’t. The only thing he’ll notice is the great taste!

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. mostaccioli noodles

• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil

• 2 garlic cloves, smashed

• 2 anchovy filets, minced

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon

• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

• healthy pinch of red pepper flakes

• pinch of kosher salt

• fresh basil, cut into a chiffonade

• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan

Directions

1. Boil pasta.
2. Smash garlic and mince anchovy filets.
3. Heat oil in sauté pan.
4. Add garlic and anchovies to oil.
5. Add kosher salt and red pepper flakes and cook two minutes.
6. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook another couple minutes.
7. Add cooked noodles directly to sauté pan.
8. Sprinkle shredded parmesan over noodles and toss.
9. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small pan and add bread crumbs. Cook about two minutes, until toasted.
10. Add bread crumbs to pasta, along with a dash of red pepper flakes and basil.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris