In the mood for a great pasta dish that takes minimal prep and uses only 2 pans? Try this: Slice and combine half a large sweet onion and one fennel bulb, place them on a cookie tray, preferably with edges, and moisten with olive oil. Place in preheated 400 degree oven and relax for a while. Check in about 20 minutes and stir, as they start to brown (not blacken), put water on to boil. You know the veggies are ready when they become delightfully fragrant (generally 45 minutes). I choose whole wheat pasta; it is a bit healthier and quite tasty! About 5 minutes before the pasta is done, throw about half a bag or so (without the bag) of baby spinach on top of the caramelized veggies, stir, and place back in the oven so the spinach can wilt. Season with S&P and place in a bowl atop the drained pasta.

I always have frozen basil pesto on hand from my summer basil crop. It adds great flavor to this dish...or feel free to add olives - I prefer Alfonso, for a bit of color and a great briny taste. Serve with grated cheese, a blend of Parmesan and Romano is great and not quite as dear as straight Parmesan.

Pesto

1/8 cup walnuts
1 clove garlic
1 bunch of basil or 2 cups of basil leaves
1/8 cup or a bit less grated cheese
olive oil to desired texture

Combine walnuts, garlic in a food processor and mix to grainy consistency

Add basil, then cheese

Add oil to make a grainy paste-like consistency

Don't overprocess, try to maintain nice color and some texture. If you choose to use the pesto as a sauce you can add more oil to it to thin it out.

If you want to store pesto in the freezer, here's an idea that works well for me: Take the pesto out of the processor, place on plastic wrap in the shape of a log and roll to wrap. Then when you want some for a meal, simply slice off what you want and thaw.