Simple Pasta With Parmesan

3KillerBs's Note:

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.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 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:

1. Put pasta into a microwavable dish large enough to give you a little room for stirring and tossing.
2. Dot pasta with butter or drizzle with olive oil.
3. Sprinkle Parmesan over top. Add plenty of fresh-ground, black pepper.
4. Heat in microwave on high 3 to 5 minute at a time, stirring frequently, until thoroughly hot.
5. Serve, passing the pepper grinder at the table.
6. 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.

Reviews

[Chef #1454042]

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. :)

[PickleLover]

Yum, this is one of those 'essential basics' dishes that we often don't even think about :) I used a healthy margarine and lower fat parm, and also added a bit of shredded romano cheese that i had on hand from another recipe. Thanks for sharing this, i know this is going to be made many times :)

[ExercisingChef]

Yes this was simple. Simply delicious!