Snowed In: Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pesto Pasta

I left work early on friday and then I had Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday AND Thursday off. Four and half days. I thought at the beginning of this snowmageddon that I would be lucky with Monday. With 2 feet of snow already on the ground from the weekend, we then proceeded to get about 10 more inches on Tuesday and Wednesday. Who would have thought? There is now a ton of snow here. The most since like 1898. Yes, I do know that, only because the news reported it repeatedly. Unfortunately, I think it's safe to say the fun is over. Well sort of. Tomorrow morning we have a 2 hour delay, so I do not have to be at work until 11am. Which is really ridiculous because we all know what will happen tomorrow. Everyone will go to work, talk about the Snoverkill and waste away the day. And then we will have a 3-day weekend. Thank you George Washington for being born in February.

While I am loving all of this, I also am getting a bit restless. I have seen about 4-5 movies in the last few days, slept more hours than necessary, and I can't seem to just stop eating, especially fat-kid, comfort food.

Yes...I said fat-kid food. You know what I'm talking about.

Ironically, this pasta dish I made brings to mind hot and sunny summers at a lake in Michigan with these kids...



Every summer, we - aka me and a few of my friends from college - meet in Michigan for a few days at a lake. We go boating, water tubing, lay out, drink and be merry, and obviously, we eat! We set it up so that a few people are scheduled for each meal. My friend, Jackie, and her husband, Mark, were in charge of this mouth-watering dinner that I thought about regularly afterwards:



So naturally I asked for the recipe, the super simple recipe, and whipped up my own pesto-y pasta. While it's not so fatty, its definitely comforting...and versatile. You can make it over the summer while in the midst of bikini season, or, if you're currently like me, while you're in the midst of sweatpants and hoodie season. It is a delicious, simple and light pasta dish. It would definitely be worth your while to mix up a leafy green salad and toast some garlic bread to accompany this dish. So grab a blender/food processor, boil some pasta annnddd, of course, pour a big glass of red wine!

Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pesto Pasta

* 1 can of artichokes, plain or marinated
* 6-7 sun-dried tomatoes
* 2 cloves of garlic
* water from artichoke can
* 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* handful of fresh parsley leaves
* as much pasta as you want
* a heaping amount of grated parmesan
* a bottle of red wine!

1. Boil pasta.

2. Blend artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic cloves, and parsley. Add oil and water as needed.

3. Toss the cooked pasta with as much of the pesto as you like and top it off with some parmesan.

4. You're all set and ready to eat.

Cheers to the 6-day weekend and the quickly approaching 3-day weekend (well...for those of us in DC at least!!)