Creamy Veggie Pasta, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free

Yes, another pasta recipe. I can't stay away! And this one was special, because I got it from my mama, and she said it was good, and so it needed to be created in my kitchen.

No one should shake off what their mama says (only shake what their mama gave them).

 As you can see on the recipe below, this originated as Pasta Carbonara from Real Simple. Then I realized that if you take away the ingredient that makes it carbonara, it turns into a detectably creamy base for whatever you want to it. (For all you bacon-lovers, feel free to add it in. I'm sure you can't go wrong.)

 If you look at its heart, this pasta is one you would rather eat in chilly December. However, check out its spring outfit! Tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, with watermelon as an appetizer. Total warm weather eats.

I've never been into creamy, Alfredo-esque pastas, mainly because I like the zing and fresh flavor of marinara sauces. Given this, I added some garlic salt and pepper to my serving of this while my husband added Frank's (Yes, the hot sauce. It goes on everything, really). My mom said she added some leftover pesto sauce to hers, which sounds am-AY-zing. However, if you're someone who enjoys the creamy, comforting taste of cheesy sauces, I would think you might not need to add any extra flavor.

So check it out - dress it up, leave it naked, throw some watermelon in the mix. Let me know what you end up doing with it, I would love to try it in different ways!

OH, and did I mention this is super quick and easy to throw together? Yeah, like you can have this on the table in a matter of 15 minutes. Hi, wild weeknight dinner.

(mom's perdy handwriting)

A few notes:

1. Instead of peas, I added broccoli, spinach and tomatoes to my recipe: frozen broccoli went in with the pasta for the last 2 minutes of its cooking time, and then I stirred in the tomatoes and spinach when I added in the sauce and pasta water at the very end.

2. You'll see in the recipe that my mom used evaporated milk instead of half-and-half, which is the same route I went. It eliminated some fat, while maintaining the velvety base.

3. I omitted the olive oil completely, and the texture still turned out great.