Pasta with pesto. But it’s healthier and more fancy looking than you’d think …

• my grocery sells “fresh” stuffed tortellini and ravioli in “family” sized packages that are good for more than a month
• I prefer pesto over marinara, but they each come in a jar and lasts a long time

1. Brown some meat. I like found Italian sausage meat when my grocery has it. I’ve also pulled the skins off (spicy) Italian sausage, I’ve used ground beef, ground turkey, or chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces. It doesn’t matter which
2. Slice a red pepper into chunks
3. Cook the pasta - remember to save a little pasta water (I always forget)
4. Dump into a colander
5. Put the pot back on the stove
6. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil, a couple shakes of crushed red pepper, and a tablespoon or two of garlic, and cook a minute to draw out the garlic
7. Dump in the pasta, the meat, the peppers , half a jar of pesto and mix it all in.
8. Add the pasta water (you remembered to save it, right?) shaved Parmesan and a handful of baby spinach and mix (this should be right before serving so the spinach is not over done)

Now you have simple pasta but it’s colorful, looks fancy, has vegetables.