The Suburbanatrix

Don’t let it fool you.  This pasta has heat.  It’s reminiscent of spaghetti aglia e olio but with a lot of veggies and minus a bunch of olive oil. Sounds healthy right?? It’s great with whole grain pasta, and  if you minus the cheese it would be a good diet alternative.  I’m not getting rid of the cheese though.  Go Me!

To cut down on the heat, reduce or remove the red pepper flake.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil, separated
• 1/3 pound spaghetti noodles (about a quarter sized bunch)
• 6-8 ounces of sliced mushroom
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped (I used Roma)
• 6-7 cloves of garlic, minced or pushed through a garlic press
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cups of fresh spinach
• 2/3 cup canned artichoke quarters
• 1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

In a medium pot, bring your water to a boil. Once boiling, add in your pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, heat up two tbsp of olive oil and saute the mushrooms.

When the mushrooms have browned slightly, pour in the onion slices, separating the rings while stirring. Cook for 4-6 minutes, to soften the onion.

Add in the chopped tomato, and the last tablespoon of olive oil. Cook until the tomatoes begin to break up, about 5 minutes. Add in the spices and garlic and stir.

Once the garlic is cooked (about a minute) add in the spinach.

Toss until wilted. Add in artichoke hearts and set aside.

Once the pasta is finished, pour 1 cup of pasta water into the vegetables. Drain the rest of the water from the pasta.  Toss the pasta and vegetable mixture together.

Now comes the big choice…  to stir in the cheese before, or to serve sprinkled on top.  Umm yeah, I do both.

Enjoy!!!