Weekday evenings blow. Two days of the week I work at my part-time job until 7:00, and Hub’s has martial arts until 8:00. Which means that the kiddo has something super quick when we get home, and I prepare dinner for me and Hubs to consumer after bed time. We’re late eaters. Always have been. The other two days of the week Hubs doesn’t get home until 6:00, which means I rush to get dinner ready before bedtime, which often results in my realizing that it will not in fact be ready. That’s when the chicken nuggets come out for the kiddo.

And Friday, well, Friday is pizza night. Always. And since the kiddo rarely eats pizza, we stuff ourselves full after his bedtime.

What I’m trying to say is that evenings are rushed. Dinner, play time, bath time, clean up, getting ready for the next day, and finally, maybe some television. If there’s anything worth while to watch, which honestly, most days of the week there isn’t. There’s rarely time to create complicated meals from scratch. Rarely time to sit down and enjoy them. Never time to clean up after them.

And so weeknight meals have to be fast, something easy, yet still really tasty. Preferably something that results in leftovers for the next days lunch or a left over buffet later in the week. Because I can only cook so many days out of the week. The rest of the time is for baking cookies. Of the MONSTER variety.

That’s where this recipe comes into play. With a just a few ingredients and about the time it takes to cook noddles, you can have a yummy weeknight meal. Super easy. Super quick. Super tasty.

Orecchiette with Spicy Chickpea Sauce

From Redbook Magazine

• 12 ounce(s) orecchiette or penne pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 1-1/2 cups marinara sauce {store bought or homemade}
• 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot of salted water, cook orecchiette according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, in a medium saucepan, heat 1 talblespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add chickpeas and hot red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and sun-dried tomatoes and cook until sauce is heated through.

Drain pasta; toss with chickpea sauce to coat. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

See? Easy peasy. Pair it with a spinach salad and some bread {Rosemary foccacia perhaps?} and you have dinner on the table in about 20 minutes.

Meal Plan

Dinner

Monday: Taco Soup
Tuesday: World’s Best Mac and Cheese
Wednesday: Grilled cheese on sourdough with pesto {suggested by so many readers}
Thursday: Lasagna
Friday: Homemade pizza on beer battered crust and homemade sauce {AllRecipes.com}
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: French toast on homemade French bread {AllRecipes.com}

Snacks

• Super Energy Granola Bars
• Chewy, No-Bake Granola Bars
• Crackers
• Graham Crackers

Desserts

• MONSTER Cookies
• Brownies
• Chocolate Toffee
• Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars
  

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Tagged as: easy dinner idea, Orecchiette with Spicy Chickpea Sauce recipe, quick dinner recipes, weekly meal plan