I had some leftover noodles from dinner the other night just sitting in the fridge that I really didn’t want to just throw away, so I used a few ingredients that I had on hand (and pretty much made the recipe up as I went along ) to turn them into an actually delicious, super quick meal! Here’s what I used…
Ingredients
A few tablespoons of olive oil
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cloves of garlic
1 and 1/2 cups of red wine (I used a cabernet)
1 tablespoon of butter
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of basil (or more, to taste)
parmesan cheese to garnish
My sister and her girlfriend made us dinner last week, so we had some cherry tomatoes on hand (I never think to buy those for some reason, but they’re so good!). I cut them in half, poured a heaping amount of olive oil into a pan, and threw the tomatoes in. I generously sprinkled some salt and pepper while mashing the tomatoes to create a sort of sauce.
Then I quickly minced three cloves of garlic and put that and a little amount of butter in the pan and stirred for about 30 seconds, letting it all get nice and fragrant on medium heat. I added some basil (I wish it was fresh but it wasn’t!) and then about a cup and a half of red wine and let it all simmer for a few minutes.
I didn’t measure ANY of this and usually don’t when I make recipes, which sort of makes it hard to replicate them exactly the same way every time. But I always say to use your best judgement! You know the amounts of the things you like (how much garlic, salt, etc.) so experiment and have a little fun with the ingredients.
Anyway, I then tossed the noodles from the night before into the pan and stirred it all together while topping it off with some parmesan cheese (also not fresh!).
I made this on a whim because I didn’t want the noodles to go to waste- we had all already had pizza for dinner that night so this was just going to be for lunch the next day. But it was so yummy that little sis even had a bowl after she already had her dinner, which never happens (it’s hard enough to get her to eat her own dinner every night, let alone a whole other meal with ingredients she usually doesn’t prefer). It was rich with flavor and felt fancy. Cherry tomatoes add such a burst of flavor to whatever they’re in. I need to remember to add them to the list when I go to the store next time!
Happy cooking, friends! x