A couple of weeks ago, I found a bag of "O" or ring-shaped pasta called "Anneletti" at Trader Joe's. Okay, technically, another patron found it by exclaiming "Spaghetti-Os!" ...which of course brought a sudden nostalgia for the various canned foods from Chef Boyardee that were too often eaten in my childhood. If your first exposure to tomato-based pastas and ravioli is Chef Boyardee, there isn't any question that it tastes fine up until we actually visit a real Italian restaurant. And even then...you never forget your first comfort foods! Now that I can cook, I don't need the artificial processed foods so ubiquitous in my youth. But it doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a more sophisticated...or at least healthier version of it. Spaghetti-Os version 2.5 Ingredients: - 1 part dried anneletti
- 3-6 parts of Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper soup (comes in a carton...found at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods Market.)
- 1/8 part fresh chopped basil (or dash of dried, to taste.) Directions: 1. Boil anneletti or any "O" shaped pasta according to package directions. 2. Drain pasta. 3. Heat up tomato soup. 4. Add pasta to the tomato soup and let simmer a few more minutes. 5. Remove from heat. 6. Mix in basil and serve hot. There are other variations of this recipe, of course. The most common being the use of condensed tomato soup in a can. (But as you can see, I've upgraded to organic soup in a carton rather than condensed in a can. Of course, if you have even more time, you could make your own pureed tomato soup.) For lunch today, I cooked a 1/4 cup of dry anneletti and mixed it with about 1.5 cups of tomato soup and 1 tsp of dried basil. After simmering for about 5 minutes, this yielded about one bowl of semi-homemade delicious Spaghetti-Os that was significantly healthier than the canned version. Serve it with a salad and maybe croutons or crusty bread, and voila! Lunch is served. Of course...I'm gonna need a nap now. | 