Quick Meal: Whole Wheat Penne with Red Pepper Vodka Sauce

 We finally had the refrigerator delivered, which means I could shop for real food, the kind of food that wouldn't be found in a bomb shelter. Oh perishables, how I missed you! It's going to be a very long time before I want to bring home any type of pre-made meal again that is wrapped in paper, has a handle or comes with its own drink.

 For our inaugural homemade meal in the new house, I made this pasta and served it with crusty bread and a simple romaine salad with homemade ranch dressing....and you know when I say "homemade" I mean I mixed up a package of Hidden Valley Farms ranch dressing mix. Yes, I know Martha Stewart would say I should mix my own with my supply of buttermilk (which I have never bought, ever) and herbs growing on the windowsill, but seriously? The only thing I've ever successfully grown is a sunflower, and that was completely by accident because I swept all the excess sunflower seeds the squirrels knocked over off the deck. The rain and sun did the rest.

Whole Wheat Penne with Red Pepper Vodka Sauce
 Boil pasta according to package directions. While that boils, saute 1/2 diced onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic in 1 tsp. oil and 1 T. butter. Once translucent, turn heat to medium and add 1 can (about 14 ounces) of crushed tomatoes and 1/2 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes (use 1/4 tsp. if you're wimpy, 1 tsp. if you're daring), sea salt to taste and a few dashes of fresh black pepper. Add a 1/4 c. of vodka and 1/2 c. of half and half and simmer for a few minutes before adding the crowning glory--a few heaping T. of fresh Parmesan. Serve over drained pasta and get comfortable for the happy carb coma which follows.