Roasted pepper, goat cheese, & basil pasta

Happy Friday! Thank goodness it's the weekend, amiright?! The weather here has suddenly cooled to a beautiful 80-degrees-and-sunny for the last couple days, which is unheard of mid-July in North Carolina. We have been eating out on our back patio in the evenings, exercising outside, and overall just enjoying the lack of humidity. It's been lovely. It also makes it especially hard to sit in an office all day, hence the strong TGIF emotions I've been feeling all day!



This weekend we are here in town, and I am thankful for some time to relax, clean my house (no really, it's pretty bad), and hopefully take Cooper to do something fun outside. I'm hoping this amazing weather lasts! We don't really have any big plans and I have to say I'm looking forward to it.

So back to the point of this post. Let's talk goat cheese. I heart it so much. One of the biggest reasons I could never go fully Paleo. I made this delicious pasta last week, and had to share it with you. It is fresh, full of flavor, and probably the best cream sauce I've ever had. It also had a decent amount of leftovers for work lunches, which is always a plus in my book. Make it this weekend, and you won't be disappointed!

Roasted Pepper, Goat Cheese, & Basil Pasta
Recipe source: Eat Good 4 Life

1 lb. whole wheat penne pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk (I used half & half)
12 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
5 oz. goat cheese (or as much as your heart desires!)
2 oz. fresh basil
4 garlic cloves
pinch of sea salt
16 oz. cherry tomatoes, chopped
pepper flakes to taste


Directions:

Cook pasta according to package instructions.

In a blender or food processor, place the cream or milk, roasted red peppers, parmesan cheese, goat cheese, and basil. Over medium to high heat in a large skillet, place the chopped garlic with one tsp. of olive oil and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and salt to the blender and pulse all ingredients for about 30 seconds. Don't blend too long or the heavy cream will whip.

Add the tomatoes to the skillet and saute for about 1 minute. Add the sauce and cooked pasta. Combine until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese, chopped basil, and pepper flakes, and serve immediately.