Beefy Red Pepper Pasta

Football is happening. I repeat: football is happening. GISH announced a full fall football season — masked on the sidelines, no masks during play (because you cannot tackle someone in a mask without the mask becoming a hazard), limited spectators, temperature checks at the gate. Justin made the JV squad as a starting defensive back, which I knew he would and which still makes me grip the steering wheel when I think about it because the gripping is the emotion and the wheel is the only thing in the cab that can hold it.

His first game is next Friday. I am rearranging my route to be home. Dave is taking off from the truck stop. Gayle is coming — masked, distanced, in a lawn chair she will bring from home because Gayle does not trust stadium seating, pandemic or no pandemic. The family will be there. We will be there the way we have always been there — present, screaming, proud, present.

The blog had another strong month — seventy-five thousand page views in August. I wrote a post about back-to-school lunches during a pandemic, and the post was practical (sandwiches, fruit, chips, a cookie — the eternal formula) and emotional (the paragraph about packing a mask next to the sandwich, about the new lunchbox checklist that includes 'hand sanitizer' and 'face covering' and the fact that these words are part of motherhood now, part of the packing and the preparing and the sending-forth). The post got shared nine thousand times. I did not expect nine thousand. I expected maybe a hundred. The internet is a place where a truck driver in Nebraska can share a lunchbox packing list and nine thousand people can nod.

I made shepherd's pie — ground beef, corn, mashed potatoes on top, baked until golden. A Monday dinner. A nothing-special dinner. The nothing-special is the thing I am best at. The nothing-special is my whole brand, and the brand is honest, and honesty sells, apparently, to seventy-five thousand people a month.

That shepherd’s pie on Monday reminded me why I cook the way I cook — no frills, no apologies, just food that does its job and feeds the people you love. This Beefy Red Pepper Pasta lives in that same lane: ground beef, sweet red peppers, a sauce that comes together fast on a Tuesday when you’re still buzzing from a good month and a son who just made the starting lineup. It’s the kind of dinner that belongs on the same table where Justin will sit down, still smelling like practice, and eat two bowls without looking up. That’s the whole goal. That has always been the whole goal.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
12 oz penne or rotini pasta
2 medium red bell peppers, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt, plus more for pasta water
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
Brown the beef. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat and return pan to heat.
Sauté the vegetables. Add the diced onion and red bell peppers to the skillet with the beef. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Build the sauce. Stir in the diced tomatoes (with their juices), tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.
Simmer. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer uncovered for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. If the sauce tightens too much, stir in a splash of the reserved pasta water.
Combine. Add the drained pasta directly to the skillet and toss well to coat every piece in the sauce. Heat through for 1–2 minutes over medium-low heat.
Serve. Divide into bowls and top generously with shredded Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh parsley if desired. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Beefy Red Pepper Pasta — The Nothing-Special Dinner That Is Everything