Pasta a la' Stacey

Today is a lazy day. 

And by lazy day, I mean I haven't changed out of my pajamas.  The past couple days at work have completely worn
me out... therefore for the first time in weeks I

am dedicated to being a lazy bum.
I look like a transient. 

I haven't hardly gotten out of bed except to use the bano 

and to cook pasta.  

On days like this my books,
my kitchen, and my bed are the best things in life!

I'm still resolutely clinging to all things Italian, 

so I perused the aisles at Trader Joes yesterday. 

I did not find pecorino cheese or buffalo mozzarella, but 

I did get prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, pappardelle pasta, 

and veggies. I didn't buy anything with any particular dishes in
mind.

So I opened my fridge this afternoon, and decided it was full of possibilities for a meal. When I make pasta this way, I never make it the same way twice. It's usually because 

I never have the same ingredients on hand. 

*You'll need: 1 package TJ's lemon pappardelle pasta (or any pasta you fancy), handful of baby spinach, olive oil, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 1 small yellow squash sliced, sundried tomatoes, pancetta (fancy name for cubed bacon), vodka sauce, sea salt and pepper.

-Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, add pasta noodles and cook to recommended time; I cook my TJ's for about 6 minutes so it's al dente.

-In the meantime, add about 4 tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet. Finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic and add to oil. Turn heat on low-medium to sautee for about a minute. 

-Add 1/4 cup of pancetta to skillet; cook about two minutes

-Add a handful of baby spinach to garlic, pancetta and oil, allow spinach to wilt. 

-Add sliced squash and sundried tomatoes, allow to cook until inner part of squash is translucent. 

-Add 1/4 cup of vodka sauce, heat until entire mixture is hot; one thing I learned in Italy is they don't drown their pasta in sauce, which I am a fan of. You can appreciate the individual flavors of the veggies, pancetta, and noodles much better!

-Add sauce to noodles, use cracked pepper and sea salt to taste (maybe even a little cheese if you have some on hand!)

And there you have it.