Tis’ the season!
The season for healthy + delicious dinners that don’t take long to be prepare!

Who am I kidding? My life is an ongoing season of dinners that don’t take long to prepare and I love it.

The longest I take with dinner is when a crockpot is involved and things take hours to cook. Otherwise, I’m a big fan of meals that are healthy but not super time intensive. Which is why I absolutely love today’s recipe.

Introducing Freaky Greek Pasta.

I first heard of this recipe from The Can’t Cook Cookbook which I snagged from my library. Even though I made and loved several recipes from the book, this Freaky Greek Pasta has stuck with our family the longest. I don’t even use a recipe for it anymore because it’s really that simple.

Last weekend, I hightailed it over to BJ’s wholesale club – they built a new one in Charlotte – and grabbed some of this gluten free penne pasta.

So here’s where I prove to you that you can make this bad guy in 15 minutes.

Pour 1 lb. penne pasta into salted boiling water. Boil for 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes are up, stir in frozen broccoli. Boil for 6ish more minutes. (I did mine about 5 1/2 because I like my broccoli to be more firm than soggy. Do according to your preference.)

Toast 1 cup sliced almonds on low heat for 3ish minutes. Stir often and remove from heat as soon as almonds are slightly browned.
Pause running around like a maniac to comfort your small child who just woke up from his nap.
Drain pasta & broccoli.

Enlist the help of sous chef to stir toasted almonds + 2 Tbsp olive oil + 1 Tbsp lemon juice + feta into pasta & broccoli.
We also added some crushed red pepper (just a smidge) and freshly ground black pepper.

You just made dinner in under 15 minutes. Say hello to 1 minute & 10 seconds of free time. Go crazy with said free time.
Or maybe clean up your kitchen.

Retreat into a dark corner to eat alone. Or eat with your family. You know, if you’re feeling social and all.

My kids all cheered when I told them we were going to eat Freaky Greek Pasta. Maybe it’s because they like the name. Maybe it’s because they like the taste. Either way, they eat it and I call that a win. Last night we had this pasta with a baguette and butter. In the summer, I’ve served it with bruschetta (also from the same cookbook). It’s terribly easy. And that’s terribly wonderful.

Go forth – make yourself some Freaky Greek Pasta. And take a nap with the time you just saved yourself!
I’ll take a nap too just so you won’t feel alone. I know. I’m nice like that.

If you happen to have a BJ’s Wholesale Club nearby, you can check them out on December 22nd and 23rd to see an in-store Barilla Gluten Free pasta demo at select clubs. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like samples to me. My kids and I spent 20 unplanned minutes listening to an in-store demo for a blender because the demonstrator kept handing out samples. I have no regrets.

For more yummy gluten free recipes, check out Barilla’s pinterest page. Like this penne with basil-pistachio pesto & cherry tomatoes? #yum

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®, Barilla®,
but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #GlutenFreeBarilla http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”