Roasted Greatness.

I think it’s safe to say that I love pasta.  Any kind.  I’d eat it for every meal if I didn’t fear the idea of never being able to fit into my clothes again :)  With that said, it’s no surprise that I about fell head-over-heels at the sound of this recipe.  I about freaked when I saw that it required me to roast my own peppers, but seriously y’all…the juice was totally worth the squeeze.  This is definitely one of my new favorite pasta dishes.  In a tiny little way, the addition of red peppers to the sauce kinda reminds me of this amazing pasta dish…minus all the other fixin’s :)  If I were you, I’d definitely replace your current version of pasta with this little number.  You’ll thank me, for sure ;)

ROASTED THREE PEPPER PASTA PRIMAVERA

1 lb. fettuccine

2 red peppers

1 green pepper

1 yellow pepper

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 cup Philadelphia Chive & Onion cream cheese spread

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Alright folks.  Don’t let this process scare ya off.  Just take a look and see how easy peasy this is gonna be.  A little time consuming, but easy :)

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. 

Place the peppers {whole} on a foil lined baking sheet.  Turn the oven to “broil” and broil these babies about 4 inches from the heat for about 7-10 minutes, or until the peppers are evenly blackened.  You’ll need to stay close to the oven for this part and make sure you’re keepin’ an eye on the peppers.  You’ll need to use a pair of tongs to turn the peppers as they blacken.  As they get all nice and black on one side, turn ‘em to an uncharred side and keep repeating the process until the entire pepper is nice & black :)

Remove peppers from oven and place in 2 separate lunch bags {2 peppers per bag}.  Now roll up the baggie like you would if your lunch was inside!  You’ll need to keep the peppers in the closed bag for about 20 minutes so that they can steam. {I didn’t have paper bags, so I just enclosed them in a little foil pan with a lid :)}

Now…time to peel ‘em back!  The skin will just slide right off!  LOVED it!  The peppers were so yum & juicy!  Even though the roasting was a little bit of a process, I LOVED the outcome!  SO cool!  Cut the peppers into thin slices.  Reserve one whole red pepper, cut it into chunks, and set aside.

Now take the reserved red pepper, the chicken broth, and the crushed red pepper and put ‘em in a blender.  Blend until smooth.

Transfer the pepper puree to a saucepan with the chive & onion cream cheese spread.  Cook & stir on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and the sauce is heated through.

Now take the sauce and transfer it to the pot of pasta and toss well!  Add the remaining roasted pepper strips and mix well until blended.  Fix yourself a little bowl and top with parmesan! 

YUM.ME.

Yes. It was totally worth all the roasted pepper prep work in the beginning.  This pasta dish is AMAZING!!!!  I was kinda thinkin’ that I might try it next time with just a jar of roasted red peppers and forego the yellow & green.  You know, just take the equivalent of a whole red pepper and use that for the pepper puree, then drain the rest & slice, and add that to the pasta.  I think that would be just as good and cut back on the prep work!  If you try it that way, let me know!!  Either way, this is definitely a dish that’ll be hittin’ the dinner table again…SOON!!!  SO YUM!