roasted veggie penne

hello everyone!

i hope you're all having a great week so far. i'm so thankful this is a short week due to good friday, and i'm pretending today is really wednesday.

everything is going well in our world...winding down this semester of school for michael (less than a month to go!), getting ready for our upcoming vacation, and of course still being very excited about baby. she/he is the size of a peach this week, and i actually have a fairly noticeable and permanent bump. fun week!

we made today's recipe several weeks ago, when it was still too cold to be spring and i was wishing for anything that made it feel like summer. this is a pasta dish, but it's loaded with veggies and isn't heavy at all. perfect for these warmer days! (even though this week is a bit of a bump in the road...come back 80s!)

[original recipe found here]

you will need:

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 medium bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2" pieces
3 cups broccoli florets
1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
12 oz whole-grain penne pasta
1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup grated parmesan (or pecorino) cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil, torn (or a few teaspoons dried basil)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1. heat large pot of salted water to boiling to prepare for pasta. preheat oven to 450.

2. in a large bowl, combine zucchini, peppers, broccoli, onion, garlic, and olive oil. divide between 2 baking sheets (i lined mine with foil for easy clean-up). sprinkle with salt and roast 15-20 minutes, stirring once. veggies should be browned and tender after roasting.

3. while veggies cook, add penne to boiling water and cook according to the package directions. reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. drain pasta and return to pot.

4. to pasta, add tomatoes, cheese, basil, crushed red pepper, roasted veggies, and salt. stir to combine, adding pasta water if needed. cook on medium heat for 2 minutes before serving.