Tasty Bites: Brown Rice Penne Pasta with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

By Candy, RN (Steele the Day)

It sometimes gets difficult for me to write a post with a recipe, because it’s so seldom I follow even my own recipes. Summer meals can be frustrating to prepare because we simply don’t want to spend time in the kitchen. Yet there’s a bounty of garden produce just begging to be cooked! Some days I will throw together the most random of foods and actually come up with some semblance of dinner. This was one of those days. No recipe, just a little starving spontaneity that I want to share.

After a long day at work, a quick stop at the gym, and a 15 mile bike ride, I came home starving. I had cleaned some Brussels sprouts the day before, slicing them in half and peeling off the browned outer leaves. As I stood staring in the fridge, I grabbed the first few things I could find: the sprouts, a package of Baby Bella mushrooms, a small chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, a near-empty goat cheese container, and a handful of fresh herbs from the pots on my patio. The result in about 20 minutes tasted so good (perhaps part of it was the starving factor), I quickly wrote it down what I did because I know how some people need an actual recipe (you know who you are)! All measurements are pretty accurate but you can substitute just about any vegetable, any type of mushroom, herb, or grain.

Brown Rice Penne Pasta with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

2 cups brown rice penne pasta

Fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 cups Brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved

6 ounces Baby Bella mushrooms, quartered

1 teaspoon seasoned salt (I used Weber’s Veggie Grill)

2 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3 Tablespoons goat cheese

Steam Brussels sprouts on stove top for 6 minutes. Transfer to baking pan and add mushrooms. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with seasoned salt, and roast at 375 ° for 10-13 minutes, stirring once. Allow sprouts to get delicately browned.

While vegetables are roasting, cook pasta according to package directions, about 7 minutes. Drain, return to pan, add remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, pepper, and chopped herbs. Toss gently and cover to keep warm while vegetables finish roasting.

Place a serving of pasta on plate, top with sprout/mushroom mixture, and sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese. Enjoy!

Candy Steele is a registered nurse who has worked with cardiac patients for over thirty years. “Functional foods” have become her passion, and she enjoys sharing her love of cooking, a random life and a faithful Jesus with her friends at Steele (the Day). She is blessed with three grown children, a new daughter-in-law, and a kind and patient husband who only knows how to fix popcorn (but she’s OK with that).