Mmm Pasta

How great is it that you can cook pasta in the microwave?! So much more handy than having to get a pot of water boiling on the stove and wait for the pasta to cook. And especially if you're only making one serving, like me :)

It's been forever but here again is Mug Monday:

Pesto Pasta

1 serving of your favorite pasta

Enough water to cover the pasta

Dash salt

1-1 1/2 Tablespoon pesto (to taste)

One slice of tomato

Mozzarella cheese (I use string cheese and chop one of them)

Pour water over pasta in a mug and add salt. Cook in microwave until pasta is tender (my microwave isn't very powerful and it takes about 7 minutes for rotini). 

While pasta is cooking, chop up the tomato and cheese. When pasta is fully cooked, drain the water off of it and stir in pesto (it's super easy to make! So if you can do it! But right now I'm just using store bought) until noodles are coated then add tomatoes and cheese. Enjoy :)

Jumping On The Bandwagon, Mug in Hand

Welcome to Coffee Mug Mondays! (name pending...)

Here's the thing, I LOVE this new craze of mug recipes! If you don't know what I'm talking about it's like this: you take a regular old coffee mug, add a few ingredients, throw it in the microwave for a few minutes and voila! Some awesome creation that, up until now, we've always needed an oven/stovetop/a lot more time to make! The recipes are usually single-serving and I have yet to find one I don't like.

Basically, mug recipes are perfect for this single girl with limited access to an oven and a schedule that usually results in arriving home real hungry. It also means I might need to buy more mugs...

I've decided to share the love, the love for these super simple, single-serving mug recipes. And because I love alliteration (words starting with the same letter or sound) and because I already shared my recipe for a chocolate chip cookie in a mug last Monday, I've decided that every Monday I'll share a proven-delicious mug recipe.

Today's recipe is one that I came up with on my own. Pasta has become a staple for me, being relatively cheap, versatile, and easily making enough for leftovers. I stocked up on some basic cooking/baking ingredients before moving to New York (meaning that my parents bought me a bunch of food so that I wouldn't starve right away) and then set to work figuring out how to combine them into palette pleasers.

This recipe is seriously one of my new favorites--it's so flavorful and I always have the ingredients on hand. Sometimes I'll add mozzarella cheese or tomatoes (as I did tonight) depending on what's in my fridge. Tonight was the first time I really tried cooking pasta in the microwave and it worked great! So much faster than over my little hot plate, and it was a lot easier to make the right amount.

Umm, Yum! Pasta

1 serving of your favorite pasta (I used 2/3 cup of rotini)

Enough water to cover the pasta (I used about a cup but it boiled over a lot)

A dash of salt

1/2 TBSP butter

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 1/2 teaspoon parmesan cheese

1 Tablespoon fresh chopped tomato (optional)

Place the pasta, water, and salt in a mug and microwave for 4-5 minutes or until pasta is cooked through. Drain the pasta and add the butter. Stir to melt the butter and keep the pasta from sticking together. Add the remaining ingredients and enjoy!

Every bite is so flavorful~ it will be gone before you know it!

Hope you enjoy this pasta as much as I do! And check back next Monday for another delicious mug recipe!