Easy Tomato Basil Pasta

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Easy Tomato Basil Pasta – Made using simple, fresh, and delicious ingredients to make the perfect quick and easy meal. Perfect anytime.

Well…

That was quite a break wasn’t it?

I really had no intentions of taking any sort of break at all, but I caught a nasty summer cold one week, that took its toll on me, and then the following week my grandfather passed away and it seemed as though after that I had a rough time getting back on track. As unexpected as the almost 3 week break was, I have to admit that it was nice to take a little break from producing content. If you follow me on social media, then you would have noticed that I was still posting content there and trying to let you know that I was indeed, still alive.

I did continue cooking, took some pictures of my recipes, and was also able to work on some things behind the scenes to step things up a bit around here. Breaks can be a good thing, especially when it comes to blogging because it helps you to stay creative and avoid the blogger burnout. In professional terms I should have came on the blog and placed up a disclaimer stating that I was taking some time away from blogging, but unfortunately life doesn’t always grant us such opportunities. My hope is that you can relate and understand and will continue to rock with me on this journey.

Anywho…

Over my break I did have some pretty awesome things happen:

• Simply LaKita reached 1K on Instagram last month and then this month over 3K. I was really excited to hit 1K because it took forever! I’m so happy to finally figure out what works for me and I love connecting with people on there.
• As a longtime follower of Blavity Foodie…it was so cool that they posted my Chickpea Salad recipe…I was literally riding in the car with I noticed the tag and all I can say is Thank God I was Not Driving 🙂
• You may remember that before I left I told you in a Currently post that I had 7 cats in my house (1 momma cat 6 kittens)? Well I am so happy to report that everyone successfully found forever homes and the momma cat is adjusting very well in my home…and I’m still not considering myself a ‘cat’ person. I will share more of that story a little later.

With all of that I did miss you…I missed blogging…I missed being here.

Easy Tomato Basil Pasta Ingredients:

• 6 oz. thin spaghetti
• 1.5 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup basil, dried or chopped fresh
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast or grated Parmesan cheese
• juice 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce later.

In a large serving bowl, mix together the tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, oregano, black pepper, and set aside.

Once the spaghetti is ready, drain, and slowly add into the tomato mixture. Tossing to incorporate as add in the reserved pasta water until the mixture is well combined. Use as much or as little of the pasta water that you desire, but you will probably use either 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup depending on how thick or thin you like the sauce.

Sprinkle the tomato basil pasta with the nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese and the lemon juice and give it one final toss before serving.

Enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from Shutterbean