Fettuccine with 'Bacon' and Roasted Red Pepper

Rich pasta dishes like this are perfect in the winter!

Drain a 7-ounce jar of bottled roasted red peppers. Cut the peppers into 1/4-inch thick strips and set aside.

Heat a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat - if you were using real bacon, you wouldn't need the cooking spray, but since vegan bacon won't render fat in the same way, you'll definitely want to add that extra lubrication.

Add two slices of chopped vegan bacon (such as LightLife) and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup sliced onion and 3 minced garlic cloves; saute for 1 minute.

Next, add the chopped red bell peppers, 1 cup frozen green peas (thawed in advance), and 1/4 cup vegetable broth (I accidentally added half a cup!); let simmer for 1 minute.

Stir in 4 cups cooked fettuccine (about 8 ounce uncooked pasta), 2 tablespoons shredded vegan cheese in place of Parmesan (such as the vegan mozzarella from Galaxy Foods), 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. For the fettuccine, I used Whole Foods' in-house brand.

You'll have 4 servings of 1 and 1/3 cups and 340 calories each.

Cost:
bottled roasted red bell peppers $2.79
vegan bacon $2.50
frozen green peas $1.99
fettuccine $1.99