Artichoke Fettuccine

I was inspired by Just Not Dinner's "Pasta with Artichoke Hearts" and decided I needed to enjoy some artichoke myself. This came out pretty well, I substituted bell pepper and zucchini in for the mushrooms and drizzled the cooked veggies with red wine vinegar. If you have GF Italian salad dressing on hand, that would add even more flavor. I think this is robust enough to serve as a vegetarian main dish.



Serves 2 (as a main dish)
45 minutes
-medium saucepan or pot
-large saucepan or wok
Easy

INGREDIENTS
1 inch diameter bundle of uncooked Tinkyada brown rice Fettuccine pasta noodles
water to cook pasta
dried basil (or fresh basil)
dried oregano (or fresh oregano)
1+2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow zucchini squash
1 medium green bell pepper
1 medium-small white onion (or half of a big one)
1 can of artichoke hearts (or frozen artichoke hearts*), without marinade
10 (around 5 oz.) cherry tomatoes, halved
splash of favorite Italian salad dressing -or- red wine or balsamic vinegar
*I used the 9 oz. box of Birds Eye frozen artichoke hearts; they seem to be GF (I have yet to react)

DIRECTIONS
1. Break fettuccine in half and place in medium saucepan. Cover noodles with water (~1.5 cups)and cook on high for 10 minutes, or until water comes to a rolling boil. Reduce heat slightly and cook till noodles are al dente (still slightly chewy in the middle, but pliable).
2. Remove noodles from heat and rise out three times with cold water. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil to saucepan and stir till noodles are well coated. Sprinkle with dried basil and place noodles beside range. Let sit while preparing veggies.
3. Cut up washed yellow zucchini squash into 1/2 inch slices, then quarter each slice. Core and wash the green bell pepper and cut into 1/2 inch squares. Set aside.
4. Open &/or defrost artichoke hearts and rise thoroughly.
5. Coarsely cut the white onion. Set aside.
6. Wash cherry tomatoes and cut each one in half. Set aside.
7. Place yellow zucchini and bell pepper into large wok. Add in 2 tbsp. of olive oil and begin cooking veggies over medium-high heat. Season with more basil and oregano.
8. Stir-fry zucchini and bell pepper for 2-3 minutes, then add in artichoke hearts. Stir-fry veggies for another 5 minutes.
9. When artichoke hearts begin turning a darker shade of green, add in onions and stir-fry another 5 minutes. Add in a little more oil and herbs if desired.
10. Pour waiting, cooked fettuccine noodles into the wok and stir til they are limp and everything is well combined. Add in halved cherry tomatoes and heat through, around 2-3 minutes.
11. When tomatoes and pasta are tender, but not falling apart, remove from heat and sprinkle generously with Italian salad dressing (or red wine vinegar, something to go with the olive oil). Serve warm, maybe with Parmesan and a slice of GF garlic bread.