Cavatappi with Roasted Broccoli and Walnuts

I don't usually make meals like this. For one, I rarely use white pasta — and I have the triglycerides to prove it. The other part I don't normally do: use all the oil and butter a recipe calls for. It clocks in at 643 calories per serving, which is a little high for me, but I figured it couldn't do much harm considering I pretty much slept through breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

I love lazy weekends.

And the Cavatappi with Roasted Broccoli and Walnuts is a rare recipe where I think cutting back on the oil and butter could be a mistake flavor-wise. I'm so glad I went ahead and made it as written for a change. Without the butter the noodles would have tasteless. I suppose, though, you could cut down on the oil used to roast the broccoli as long as you make sure it doesn't get charred to a crisp while roasting.

For as simple as it was, I really liked it. Maybe I'm butter-deprived or maybe roasted broccoli really has turned a former broccoli hater into a broccoli lover. Either way, it was the perfect choice for a weekend where I really wasn't up for much other than lounging.