Summer Recipe: Parsley Pasta

With having picked up some yummy snow peas at the farmer's market last week, and an over abundant amount of herbs that keep growing like weeds... I knew I needed to create a yummy dinner last night... something fresh and new.  One of the herbs that's growing like crazy, is parsley... it's just HUGE and although I use a little here and there for certain dishes, it's never enough cut back.

Parsley is probably one of the easiest herbs to grow... but because the seeds take an UBER long time to germinate (4-6 weeks)... I decided to play a more mature one bought from the local nursery. Like most herbs, cutting will stimulate growth (seriously, my plant is growing like crazy), so always cut off the older growth first.

A lot of recipes call for parsley... often times they ask for dried... but adding fresh makes the recipe that much tastier. I created a simple... I mean super easy recipe with some last night, that I think you all will enjoy.

Grab about 3/4 cup of parsley, wash it off and chop it up finely... while you're doing this, boil any type of pasta. I used some three cheese tortellini... and I can't imagine using anything else for this recipe. Because I had snow peas on hand, as well as grape tomatoes... I sliced and diced about 1 cup of each and then left them in a strainer after giving them a good rinse. Once the tortellini noodles were done cooking, I poured them over the peas and tomatoes and let them rest.

In a saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter (I bet you can use olive oil and have it taste just as yummy).  Add 2 tsp of minced garlic, all of the chopped parsley, and about 1/4 c. of chopped red onions and stir in. Let this cook for about 2 minutes or until it starts to boil/bubble... add salt and pepper to taste. 

Move noodles, peas and tomatoes over to a bowl, and stir in your parsley butter sauce... add salt and pepper to taste, and it's finished!

We cooked up some grilled chicken on the side that was marinated in a sun dried tomato dressing, sliced it up and added it to the pasta for some protein... delicious. Seriously... I've never been one to enjoy being in the kitchen, but having fresh herbs and other yummies makes it SO easy to feel inspired to cook.