The Big Giant Food Basket: Fabulous Fall Pasta and Tomato Toss

Last week when my sister Kim came up to celebrate Grace's 11th birthday, she brought with her a huge bag of tomatoes which was the last of what she grew in her garden this year. There is nothing I love more than fresh tomatoes but you have to use them up quick or you will find yourself sharing your kitchen with a whole bunch of fruit flies. Anyhow we had spaghetti and meatballs for Grace's birthday dinner and needless to say I made WAY more pasta than we could have possibly consumed, so the balance of what we didn't eat went right into the frig. NOW WHAT IS A GIRL TO DO??? I have about a pound of leftover cooked pasta with all these gorgeous tomatoes, plenty of garlic, a cupboard full of white beans which I love, and some shrimp in the freezer. So I began putting these ingredients together and came up with this pasta dish which can be served as an entree...OR and as a lovely appetizer!

Ingredients:

3-4 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic minced
3-4 whole ripe tomatoes diced
Small white beans, I used about a cup
1/4 cup fresh parsley plus some for garnish
8-10 large white shrimp shelled and deveined ( you can also cut them in half if you prefer)
Leftover cooked spaghetti about 2 cups (whole wheat works fine...that us what I typically use)
Shredded Parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup
Some crushed red pepper to your liking (optional)
Fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt to season

Heat olive oil in medium sized pan and add the garlic, let simmer on low to medium heat just until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and beans and saute for another two minutes. Add the spaghetti and heat then toss in the shrimp and heat through until they turn light pink. Remove from heat and season the crushed red pepper, black pepper and sea salt. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.