Rejoicing in Recipes: Nevermind the Meat

I forgot about Meatless Monday on Monday, so I decided to do it last night. I got myself busy with things around the house and phone calls, so I was rushing around at 5:00 (when Arthur got out of work) trying to think of what to make. I decided to use up my last red bell pepper and some of the fresh green beans I got yesterday at Meijer. Mmmmm....we love fresh green beans. And they were only $.87/lb....not the BEST price, but the best since last Fall. I was glad to buy them again!

So, I used one of my many boxes of free pasta (thank you, Jewel-Osco, for your several weeks of sales on Ronzoni pasta - $1 each and there were a ton of $1 off coupons!!) and threw this together:

3/4 box Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Spaghetti (it's multi-grain or whole grain; i forget which)
2 TBSP olive oil (I use extra light-tasting olive oil)
1 clove garlic, chopped (I used dried garlic because I was out of fresh)
salt and pepper to taste
1 small red bell pepper, cut into think strips
Fresh green beans (I didn't measure these, just eyeballed about how many we'd eat)

Cook pasta according to box directions, leaving slightly al dente.
Boil green beans in water for a few minutes, until tender but still crispy.
Heat oil in saute pan and add garlic. Cook until golden. Add red pepper strips and cook until tender but crispy. Add in cooked pasta and green beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat all with oil and make sure all is warmed through. Serve and enjoy! Serves 6, approximately.....it fed all of us but we have 3 little mouths and had just a little bit left over for lunch today.

My husband does NOT like peppers of any kind, so he picked his out. :) The girls had to try the peppers. Iris liked them, Lily did not. Addy just played with it. Overall, it was a well-liked dish. I plan to keep this one in mind for another meatless meal. Very quick and easy to make, as well as healthy.

I served it with a green salad, applesauce and bread with butter. Simple, simple. My painful hip appreciated the minimal running around in the kitchen to make it! :)