Orecchietti with Spicy Broccoli

If you want an easy pasta dish, this is a great choice. You only have to chop broccoli and garlic, and heat them up with a couple other ingredients while the pasta is cooking.

I thought the flavors were distributed perfectly, but I have a head cold, so there is a distinct possibility that I over-salted. Tommie will be home soon to let me know. My guess is that I did, but as my taste buds are on strike, the salt to everything else ratio seemed good to me.

I'm giving this dish a 4.5. It's surprisingly tasty and extremely easy to make.

Penne with Broccoli and Pumpkin Seed-Parsley Pesto

Wow. This recipe is a keeper. First time making this pasta, and I love it. I was turned away in the past because it calls for Parmesan cheese, and it also seemed like a lot of work.

Wrong. The only chopping was snipping parsley leaves from the stems. I seriously took the lazy route and purchased broccoli already prepped rather than having to cut it myself.

As to the Parmesan, I made this a vegan dish, so that Tommie wouldn't have to be subjected to The Cheese. Instead, I added two tablespoons of nutritional yeast to the pesto (processed with all the other ingredients). I think it completely worked: thicker consistency and more flavor. Go me.

Tommie won't be eating this one until late tonight, so I'll be curious to hear if he agrees, but I'm giving this Penne 5 stars. I was definitely sad when I had to put the fork down. (I actually kinda ate a little more than I should, which is another giveaway.)