Would you like to have some plain old spaghetti? Probably not. But how about a fancy pasta with a delicious sauce, and very little work? That sounds great! Everyone will have that.

That’s what happens when you buy some “Pappardelle” (or any fancy) pasta noodles from some fancy looking shop or county fair booth. I happened to pick up some Garlic & Chive Pappardelle noodles, but you can use anything you have–the fancier the better.

Then, once you have your noodle of choice, splurge on an expensive jar of sauce. Vodka is one of my favorites because it’s a red sauce with some cream in it. I don’t like when a sauce is too tomatoey; so the cream is nice.

This recipe is so easy, it’s basically getting some very quality ingredients and taking a boring old dish to the next level. Take a look:

Prep Time: 5 min     Cook Time: 8 min

Ingredients:

• Fancy Pappardelle pasta noodles (or any fancy pasta)
• Expensive Vodka pasta sauce (or any fancy sauce)
• Fresh Herbs (Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, etc.)
• Parmesan Cheese (grated)

Directions:

1. Boil water in a large pot over high heat. Make sure you have enough water that when you add your noodles, they’re covered by at least an inch of water.
2. When the pot of water is boiling, add your noodles and reduce heat to medium-isa (but keep it boiling). Boil for 6-8 minutes (unless you’re pasta package says otherwise).
3. Pour the jar of sauce into a separate pan to warm it up. Don’t try and serve cold sauce–that’s weird.
4. While the sauce is warming and the noodles are cooking, chop/mince your herbs to use as a garnish on top of the pasta.
5. When the noodles are done cooking, strain them in a strainer or colander.
6. Serve the noodles immediately with sauce, garnish, and cheese.

If you don’t own a strainer, I highly recommend this one:

Also, I can’t stress this enough: There are lots of great time to buy “store brand” items. This is not one of them. Because you’re entire meal consists of mainly two ingredients (noodles & sauce) you need to buck up and buy the good stuff. Especially if you’re sharing the meal with someone significant.

This pasta dish would also go really great with some garlic bread, or some baked chicken.