Dinner is served, and it's: Roasted Cherry Tomato Pappardelle!

I love pasta. I could easily eat it every night, but then that may take the pleasure out of it. Instead I only have it once per week and I try to make it as healthy as it is delicious. Tonight we're having pappardelle noodles (wide, flat noodles) with oven roasted cherry tomatoes. Like most of my recipes -- quick to make and nutritious.

Here's what you need:

pappardelle egg noodles from Trader Joe's, or other whole wheat wide noodle from any other grocer - (whole wheat for added fiber)

cherry tomatoes -12 oz container

3 cloves garlic

flat leaf parsley

red chili pepper flakes

fresh basil

olive oil

salt and pepper

The egg noodles are a good source of protein and they're low in fat, but the whole wheat/whole grain noodles add fiber, which is a bonus. Buy whichever you prefer. TJ's was carrying pappardelle spelt noodles for the longest time (even higher in protein and fiber than whole wheat noodles) but they haven't had them in months so I've switched to the egg.

This dish is really easy to put together. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then boil water for pasta. The pasta only takes about 8-10 minutes, so don't add the noodles to the water until cherry tomatoes have been cooking for about 5 minutes. While the oven is heating, drizzle approximately 3 tbsp of olive oil in 8" x 11" glass dish. Chop garlic and add to the olive oil. Coarsely chop 2 tbsp of parsley and 3 tbsp of basil, and add to dish. Sprinkle 1 tsp of chili flakes (or more if you like it spicy) in olive oil. Rinse tomatoes, shake off excess water, and pour into glass dish. Add salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix tomatoes with oil and spices until tomatoes are nicely coated. Cook tomatoes in the oven for 15 minutes. If you cook them much longer, they'll overcook and start to burst, so keep an eye on them. You also don't want to burn your garlic. I usually toss the dish once or twice while it's in the oven to make sure everything is cooking evenly.

As I mentioned earlier, add the pasta to the boiling water once tomatoes have been in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove tomatoes from the oven. When pasta is ready, drain well and add to glass dish with tomatoes. Toss until noodles are well mixed. You may need to add another drizzle of olive oil over the noodles depending on how much pasta you cooked, but add at your own discretion (as I'm sure you know, olive oil is considered a 'good' fat, but still has approx. 120 calories and 14 g fat per serving, so don't overdue it). Serve and garnish with fresh basil on top.

As far as portion sizes go, if using the egg noodles from TJ's, I usually cook 2/3 of one package for Keith and me. I'm sure you know how much pasta you normally eat, so I'll leave that up to you.

This meal is great with fresh whole grain bread and olive oil for dipping (which I could live on), but not necessary if watching carbs.

Happy eating!