White pasta

I am not a cereal fan. There are few things that I actually enjoy eating for breakfast. Mostly, I am not all that hungry until 10:00 at the earliest. A while ago, I got this 8 grain cereal mixture, made it up once, and it's been sitting around my pantry ever since.

I made this crazy dish for dinner the other night. The idea of it started from the Rachael Ray show, but I changed her idea to be easy and GF. Don't be afraid with what you read in the ingredient list. The 8 grain cereal mix is part of the recipe. I know, I know. But it really does taste good in the end. I promise.

Now, I feel the need to continue giving "heads up" for this recipe. It is not your regular sort of pasta dish. There is no red sauce on it. I did choose to put in tomato in order to give some color, and because I have alot of grape tomatoes ripening in my garden right now. So they are in most of my meals lately. No sauce on pizza is white pizza so I dubbed this dish white pasta. Don't loose me... here we go!

White pasta

Cook a couple cups of GF noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse and put back in the hot pot while you make the topping. Squeeze some lemon juice over the hot noodles and toss to coat.

Take a large skillet and heat it on medium heat. Pour enough olive oil in to coat the bottom of the pan. Add 1/2 cup of the Red Mill 8 grain cereal to the oil and cook it until it gets browned and smells nutty. Keep an eye on it - you don't want it to burn! Add 1/8 cup of dried parsley to the pan. Stir and add a little more oil if the mixture has soaked the pan dry. Saute on gentle heat for a total of about 10 minutes. Add a teaspoon of garlic powder and stir to distribute.

After the grain cereal has softened up enough to chew but is still firm, take 4 ounces of cooked, sliced ham (I used ham for sandwiches) and cut into strips. Add to the pan to heat through. Pour entire mixture into the pasta, mix together. Take small tomatoes, cut in half. Add to pasta and fold in. The remaining heat will cook them enough to make them soft but will still hold their shape. Shred parmesean cheese over the top to taste.

There it is. A no-sauce pasta dish that has meat, tons of flavor and GF nutrients. And it's a little on the weird side so it must be something special, wouldn't you agree? Try it. I dare you!