Cookin' It up: Spicy Orecchiette with Broccoli

I've been working two jobs the past couple months trying to work towards a huge goal of mine (more details on that in a separate blog post!). Needless to say, I have barely had time for LIFE. Mondays and Tuesdays are my coveted days off with Jacob and we definitely make the most of our time together. One of our favorite things to do is cook dinner together, which we've been doing alot more of lately. Monday night we had a little date night including a very delicious dinner I wanted to share!

Spicy Orecchiette with Broccoli

Ingredients:

12 oz. orecchiette or other short pasta

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes

1 head broccoli (about 1 pound), cut into bite-size florets, stalks peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add broccoli and 1/2 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until broccoli begins to soften, about 8 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until water has evaporated and broccoli is crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes more.

3. To pasta in pot, add broccoli mixture, parmesan, and enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. Serve sprinkled with extra parmesan.

Next time I make this dish, I'm going to add some tasty summer squash. The picture above is fresh from the pot. It does not do it justice! This was one of my favorite meals in awhile and it was so simple to make! It looks a little bland because I'm super sensitive to spicy food.... but I ended up adding more red pepper flakes as I ate and it was delicious!

J and I played our new video game: Toy Story Mania on Wii (and it's in 3-D, hence the nerdy glasses!) and then ended the night watching the movie "Youth in Revolt" (not a movie I recommend, but it was just nice to relax on the couch together!)