Whole Wheat Mexican Vegetable Pasta

I think I've reached my limit on color coding my calendar. And that is definitely a sentence I never expected to say! I told you guys I came up with this new plan to be more organized with blogging — which means scheduling everything weeks in advance, only cooking two days per week, etc. — and it has been working out REALLY well! On my calendar I have "MAKE _____" in purple, then "POST _____" a few weeks later in blue. Personal and social appointments (and yoga teaching) are in green. When I finish something (like I cook it or write the post), they turn orange. ARE YOU PULLING YOUR HAIR OUT YET!? We're not even close to done. Stay with me!

This system is working wonderfully for me, with one exception: I tried to add another color for when I'm going to make a video (FOR YOUTUBE YAY!), and it screwed e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. up. EVERYTHING! I was like "Oh, I'll just change the PURPLE to PINK (duh) if I'm going to video that recipe! Easy!" WRONG. Not easy. It messed up my brain and now when I look at my calendar I want to rip my hair out, too. I feel ya. So pink --> back to purple. Video will just have to have another system. Like maybe just my brain remembering "oh, this might be a good one to shoot!" Yeaaah. We're gonna stick with that for a while. Maybe once I graduate from my beginner calendar (I really am pretty new to this) I can add more colors. But that sounds pretty advanced! I'll keep you posted. WOOO!

Today I bring you something that tastes uh-mazing and sounds really freaking weird. Yeah, I'm aware. Mexican pasta? What the what? I swear it's tasty. You basically throw a bunch of Mexi-ish things in a pan with some pasta and end up with a SPICY MEXI CARB PLATE! Doesn't that sound appealing? No really, doesn't it?

I realize there is no such thing as Mexican pasta. Now that I say that so authoritatively I'm questioning myself — maybe there IS something called Mexican pasta and I'm either totally missing out on it or have TOTALLY butchered it here? We're gonna assume there is no such thing as Mexican pasta... except for this dish! YAY!

Start by sautéing some veggies (YUM), then add some tomato sauce (it IS pasta, after all), broth, SALSA, and other goodies (like spices, duh). Let all of that simmer together until the yum yum whole wheat pasta has soaked up the liquid. Top it all with sum CHEEEEEZE and broil it to perfection! That's my favorite part. Cheese, obviously, and broiling it to perfection. You cannot go wrong.

The one thing I forgot to put in these pictures, but absolutely 100% makes this amazing, is serving it with crushed tortilla chips! YES! CARBS ON CARBS ON CARBS! That's how we roll in my house. Can I claim it's because I'm trying to motivate myself to think about trying to start running again? Ha. You can see I'm a ways away from that — but it's on the brain! First step: carbs on carbs on carbs!

I need help.

Go make this! Put some tortilla chips on it! Melt more cheese! Eat your mexi-mac! xoxo

Whole Wheat Mexican Vegetable Pasta

• Author: by Mary
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tsp cooking oil
• ½ onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced or crushed
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp chili powder
• 1 14 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 cup spicy salsa
• 2+ cups of vegetable broth
• 1 lb. whole wheat pasta, uncooked
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 ½ cups corn kernels
• salt & pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or colby jack or Mexican cheese mix)
• tortilla chips & fresh cilantro

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Instructions

1. In a very large skillet over medium heat, add the cooking oil, onion, and garlic. Cook for two minutes before adding the bell pepper, ground cumin, and chili powder.
2. Cook for three more minutes before adding the tomato sauce, salsa, 2 cups of broth, and the dry pasta.
3. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat, stirring every few minutes, until the pasta has absorbed all of the liquid and is soft. If you need to add more broth (or water), so do.
4. Just before the pasta is done, add the beans and corn. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. When the pasta is finished, sprinkle the melted cheese over the top (transfer the pasta to an oven-safe pan if your skillet is not oven-safe), and broil 3" under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling (about 2 minutes).
6. Serve hot, topped with crushed tortilla chips and fresh cilantro.

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