Easy Weeknight Pasta

This weekend I visited the Boston Cheese Cellar in Roslindale and bought a plethora of cheeses, chocolates, and honey. Now I'm trying to figure out how to use all of my bounty. I made this food for dinner tonight. It was delicious and you should try it.

One of my purchases was a container of fresh Mozzarella. I love this stuff! If you get the kind packed in water it tastes less salty than the vacuum-packed varieties, but either kind is good. Combining it with some basil from my windowsill pot seemed like the perfect combination. This pasta took about 15 minutes to make. You could add some pre-cooked chicken sausage to the red pepper saute, but I made it vegetarian this time.

You'll need:

• Some short pasta like penne or rigatoni. I use half a box, which makes enough for me, B., and leftovers for lunch. Whole wheat or regular, whatever you like.
• Fresh Mozzarella, duh. Cut it up into little pieces
• Fresh basil, torn into pieces. You could use dried but the dish comes out pretty different. 
• Red pepper, cut into 1/2 inch-ish sized chunks
• Package of frozen peas

1. Boil up a pot of water and throw the pasta in there once it's ready.
2. A few minutes before the pasta is done, heat up some olive oil in a skillet. Once it's hot, add the red peppers and stir. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally so they don't get burned.

3. A minute before the pasta is done, add the peas.

4. Drain the pasta and peas using a colander, then put them back into their pot.

5. Add the cooked red peppers to peas and pasta, letting the olive oil drizzle in. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, add basil, and toss.
6. Add the mozzarella a few pieces at a time. It melts easily, so if you throw it all in at once, it will all glom up together. Stir it in, then add some more.

7. Nom!