Recipe #17: Whole Wheat Pasta with Portobellos and Peppers

This, I think, is what people mean when they say they "cook" after work: seeing what's in the fridge, throwing it together, and hoping for the best.

I boiled some whole wheat penne. In a skillet, I sauteed garlic, bell peppers, and portobello mushrooms. When they were mostly cooked, I threw in some grape tomatoes I halved along and some fresh basil and oregano and cooked a bit longer. I put the veggies on top of pasta, added some shredded cheese, and voila! Dinner.

I think it could have used more flavor, and I wonder if adding some tomato paste would have made a difference. Also, I didn't add any oil because I always try to cut out fat if possible, and that was probably a mistake. I did add water partway through the cooking because things seemed to be sticking. I'm guessing that means that my vegetables finished cooking in a steamy way as opposed to a crispy way. They still tasted good.

I'm not terribly excited about this dish, but it was tasty and easy to do and able to be done quickly and with stuff I already had. I'm going to count it as a success and try to ramp up the flavor next time. Any opinions on how I could do that would be appreciated.