Make This Tonight: Tuna Marinara

If you're anything like me you're forgetful, lazy, prone to procrastination... you get where I'm going with this.  So it's no surprise that I forgot to defrost something for dinner tonight.  Happens at least once (or twice, maybe three times) a week!  No problem!  I have a delicious hearty pasta meal on standby with the help of my stocked pantry.  Hopefully yours is more organized than mine:

Here are some pantry staples I have on hands for nights like these:

• Canned beans - (tonight I'll be using Cannellini beans)
• Crushed tomatoes and mostly ALL canned tomato products from diced, pureed, plum, crushed, etc. 
• Jarred artichoke hearts in water - I buy these in bulk and use them for salads and pasta dishes
• Canned or jarred tuna in water or olive oil
• Anchovies - They add a ton of flavor
• Frozen veggies - OK so these aren't a pantry staple but they're a freezer staple in my house
• Pasta - duh

This is a real "grease-ball" dish as my Mom would say.  Super Italian and yummy.  I like it because it's not just a starchy high carb meal.  It combines lots of protein and veggies making it a complete meal.  I usually make this meal without the artichoke hearts but I love them and had them on hand.  It would be perfectly fine without them.  

Tuna Marinara (my take)
1 lb spiral or ridged pasta like Rigatoni Rigate or Fusilli 
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15oz can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can tuna drained - any kind you like
2-3 anchovies and a small amount of their oil
1/2 cup jarred artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp olive oil

Heat olive oil at the bottom of a small sauce pan.  Add garlic, anchovies and anchovy oil, and red pepper flakes.  Cook until fragrant.  Add tuna and cook ~ 2 minutes.  Add crushed tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.  In the last 5 minutes of cooking time add artichoke hearts, frozen peas, and beans to the marinara sauce.  Cook until heated through.  Add sauce to pasta and toss until coated.  

Your Favorite "Grease-Ball",

Meg Loc <3