Simple Pasta With Parmesan

Submitted by 3KillerBs

"Another stupidly simple side dish made from pantry staples that my family asks for over and over. The savory combination of flavors goes well with many other foods. It can be made with freshly-cooked pasta or with leftover, cooked pasta that has no sauce on it. I've included options for some variations to create not-so-simple but extremely tasty side dishes or complete, one-dish meals by adding ingredients you probably have on hand."

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photo by limeandspoontt

Ready In:: 15mins
Ingredients:: 5
Serves:: 6-8

ingredients

1 lb pasta, cooked (any type)
3 -4 tablespoons butter or 3 -4 tablespoons olive oil
¹⁄₄ - ¹⁄₃ cup grated parmesan cheese
¹⁄₈ - ¹⁄₄ teaspoon garlic powder
fresh ground black pepper

directions

Put pasta into a microwavable dish large enough to give you a little room for stirring and tossing.
Dot pasta with butter or drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle Parmesan over top. Add plenty of fresh-ground, black pepper.
Heat in microwave on high 3 to 5 minute at a time, stirring frequently, until thoroughly hot.
Serve, passing the pepper grinder at the table.
You can add 1-2 cups of cooked meat (chicken, turkey, and ham are all especially good), and/or 1-3 cups pre-cooked, chopped vegetables. I particularly recommend broccoli, zucchini, onions, and/or green, snap, or snow peas.

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Reviews

Am I missing something here? Recipe calls for garlic powder - and yet no mention of it appears in the step-by-step instructions included with the recipe.

Lynn P.
This is made a lot mainly for lunch paired with a vegetable and fruit. My young kids like it and it's simple. Instead of just garlic we sprinkle on tiny bit of Paula Deen's house seasoning.

drinkmore
AWESOME! Make the pasta fresh and reserve some pasta water to mix in! Easiest and best simple homemade side dish!

jacragin_8917203
I had a casserole full of leftover whole wheat rotini, and this was a perfect way to have dinner on the table in three minutes flat. What's funny is that I have added all these ingredients to leftover pasta after it's been heated, but I'd never put them in with the pasta before heating. What a difference it made. The pasta came out tasting creamy and well-put together; the ingredients all working together to make an excellent whole.<br/><br/>One note: I did not measure the ingredients--instead, I just tossed in what seemed right. Thanks, 3KillerBs!

juniperwoman
This was so good! I used some basil garlic butter I found in the freezer along with some olive oil. Wow, am I glad I found that! Between the the infused butter and the fresh parm, it was a winner. So easy and so tasty. I'll be making this often. I love pasta with simple ingredients. The pasta I used was mini fusili (?sp) Any pasta would work. It just seemed better with a smaller and shorter pasta. I may have to have just a little bit more before bed which means no left overs for breakfast. Darn! Stupid, simple and amazing. :)

tkelleytj

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Tweaks

its a 10/10 resipe easy to make and only takes 12 mins

Andrea R.
This is made a lot mainly for lunch paired with a vegetable and fruit. My young kids like it and it's simple. Instead of just garlic we sprinkle on tiny bit of Paula Deen's house seasoning.

drinkmore
I love pasta prepared this way. I've been making this for years because it's so good and so easy. Although I've used butter, I prefer to use a really high quality olive oil. And whatever you do, don't use that dry, tasteless parmesan cheese from a can. Get yourself some real parmigiano reggiano for this. Yeah, it costs more, but it's worth it! You can also substitute red pepper flakes for the black pepper.

Steph.