Creamy Tomato Parmesan Mezzi Rigatoni

When is the last time that you created a meal without having to run to the grocery store to pick up something to add to dinner? — This question is not for the very well organized people that have menu lists made up and all of those ingredients in the house. No, no….

I suppose I should have asked, when is the last time you threw the pantry doors opens with a hunger in your tummy, no meal plan and then made something that was out of this world delicious for dinner without having to run to the store?

That never happens to me ever, ok maybe it happens once in a blue moon but rarely do I have everything I need at home. I normally always need to pick up at least one item to complete dinner!

But the other night I was determined to make something for dinner without having to go out again since I was already home from work. I dug through the cabinets and pulled out a bunch of stuff that would probably go well in a pasta dish. I’ve been on a pasta kick lately and it’s all I wanted, so that was my mission. I wanted pasta and I was going to make it happen! With no pasta sauce in the house I had to figure out what I was going to use for a sauce.

While I was ransacking the cabinets for canned tomatoes and looking for tomato paste, I grabbed this box of pasta that Delverde had sent to me. You see I had already made a pasta recipe for the Delverde DISH YOUR BLOG recipe contest a few weeks ago but was still tweaking the recipe, so I thought “well since I’ve already made my recipe for that contest, I’ll just use this Mezzi Rigatoni for dinner tonight”.

Little did I know, that after dinner I would be plating this pasta in order to snap it’s photo for the contest. This pasta right here blew the other pasta recipe I was working on out of the water.

I knew that I had to enter it into the contest and that I had to share it with you. I literally danced around my kitchen after making this haha. It obviously doesn’t take much to make me happy anymore 🙂

I can cook all day long and I will admit that I’ve cranked out some pretty awesome food in the past 7 or so years but my heart literally sings when I’ve created something in the kitchen that’s amazing by literally adding a bit of this and a bit of that in hopes of making something edible. haha This was by far better than just “edible”. It was down right fantastic. Fantastic to Big Bear and I anyways.

It’s creamy and the sauce is just the right thickness. I love the seasonings and the little kick that the Parmesan cheese gives it. Who knows if I’ll win the contest or not, but I still love this dish and had to share it with you!
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(Printable Recipe Here)

Creamy Tomato Parmesan Mezzi Rigatoni

by Angie Barrett 9-05-2013

Ingredients

1 cup cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons Lucini Premium Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil®

4-5 oz of tomato pasta (to taste)

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon basil, dried

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons cilantro paste

1/4 cup sugar

4 oz cream cheese, softened 

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 box Delverde Mezzi Rigatoni (dry pasta)
Parsley and extra shredded Parmesan cheese *optional for garnish

Instructions 

Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the pasta. Cook for 12-13 minutes or until done. Drain and set aside. 

In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add in cherry tomatoes, cover and cook until tomatoes soften and start to burst (about 5 minutes or so).

Remove the lid and gently press the tomatoes with the back of a spatula until all of them burst in the skillet. 

Stir the tomatoes around and add the tomato paste to the skillet. Whisk in the chicken broth. Heat and whisk until the tomato paste dissolves into the chicken broth. Add in the basil. pepper, garlic powder and cilantro. Whisk together. Whisk in the sugar. 

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Stir in the cream cheese. Stir well until melted. Add in the Parmesan cheese. Stir until melted.

Add in cooked pasta. Toss to coat. 
Garnish with parsley and extra shredded Parmesan cheese.

Yields: 5-6 servings