Easy Lemon Garlic Pasta

Right now I'm doing a grand inner debate. Do I nap? Watch a movie? Go to Target? Start a craft project? So many options to choose from, all because I'm trying to pretend like today isn't our last day of vacation. Don't get me wrong, I have a great job and great co-workers, but going back from a two week break is always a little sad. At least it's only a 3 day work week!

I made this recipe for dinner the other night. I saw it on Pinterest before we left for the holiday, but didn't have any plans to cook while I was gone so I had to wait to make it. It's quick, easy, cheap and delicious, all requirements for meals here around the Neinast household.

Here's a general idea what you need, though this is a very loose translation as it's a lot of guessing and eyeballing:

dry spaghetti {I used whole wheat}
grated parmesan (I used a 4 cheese blend)
olive oil {I poured about a 3 in circle in my pan}
mince garlic {I used several spoonfuls}
lemon {I used 1 whole one}
5-6 basil leaves, or dry like me if you forget to buy them at the store


While your spaghetti is boiling, add a generous portion of olive oil and minced garlic to a pan and saute until the edges turn light brown. Remove from heat {we'll come back to this.} Cut your lemon in half to have ready. Add a couple of shakes of basil to the olive oil/garlic mix and stir together. Once your pasta is cooked, drain and add to the pan with olive oil. Mix well, then add cheese to your liking, then mix again. Squeeze the lemons over the pasta and mix one final time. Dish into bowls and top with crushed pepper as desired.



Just a warning... the cheese kinda got clumpy and didn't really melt and mix in as well as I thought it would. Next time I might let each individual add their own cheese. I also added extra lemon to mine. The more the merrier, right? I served this with delicious clearance bread from Walmart {.84!} and also tried out a Johnny Carino's Olive Oil dip. I'll link to it, but the recipe was a bust. Probably because I kinda made due with what we had and used minced garlic, not the head of garlic like it called for. Live and learn.

All in all, a great recipe that will make it into our dinner rotations!


Here's a link for the original recipe.