Pantry raid

This is one of my favorite weeknight meals to throw together. I usually have some, if not all, of these ingredients lurking in my pantry or the back of my fridge. However, I realize my idea of a "pantry staple" might be different from other folks'. That's not because I have better taste or a bigger paycheck. It's because I shop at Costco. Witness:

Let's pretend all the junk on my counter is for scale.

Once you buy sun-dried tomatoes from Costco, you've bought them for at least a month or two. Same for artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. That's the only reason I usually have these slightly gourmet ingredients on hand on a regular basis. In this recipe, they can all be mixed or matched in whatever ratio you prefer. If you're lucky enough to have a husband that doesn't hate olives, those would be great here as well.

Fancy Pants Pantry Pasta
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pounds pasta
• 5 oz goat cheese (Okay,  I did have to buy this. But if you've ever bought Costco goat cheese you know that stuff takes forever to plow through, too.)
• 1 roasted red pepper, diced (about a cup)
• 1 c. marinated artichoke hearts, sliced
• 1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. parsley (Optional. I used it for color and because it was about to wilt)
• salt and pepper
• (That's a lot of parenthesis for an ingredients list.)(Don't you think?)

Directions:

1. Boil pasta in salted water. Drain, but catch 1 c. of pasta water to use in sauce. 
2. Toss pasta with goat cheese until smooth, add rest of ingredients. Use as much pasta water as you need to coat the pasta well. 
3. Adjust with salt and pepper as necessary. Add  more parmesan if you're feeling kicky.