Tortellini with fried garlic and parmesan cheese

As a college student, one of the most important staple foods for me to keep on my shelves is pasta. It's fast, easy, and requires little to no imagination. That's a blessing when there's lots of work to be done, or when I'm worn out from a hard exam, and I just want to eat something easy now.

As for today, I haven't gone grocery shopping for a loooong time, so I'm running kinda low on supplies, including pasta sauce! (Oh, the horror!) But the show must go on. I can't just not eat. I looked around and I had some tortellini noodles left in the fridge. Pasta is good with just olive oil and parmesan cheese, but I wanted to do something a little bit extra. Garlic is always a good option when making Italian-inspired anything. Good thing I keep some on top of the fridge!

Anyway, here's how I did it.

What you'll need:

• A medium-ish size pot, depending on how much pasta you're making. 
• A strainer
• A spoon for stirring
• Garlic press or knife and cutting board
• Uncooked pasta noodles of your preference 
• Olive oil - A few tablespoons will be more than enough
• One clove garlic
• Parmesan cheese - As much as your little heart desires

There's really not much to it. 

1. First, cook the pasta according to package directions. I already threw away the package for mine so I guessed. I think I overcooked it a little. Oh well. When it's done, drain your pasta in the sink with the strainer. Don't burn yourself with the steam like I did. Let the pasta sit in the strainer for a little bit while you do Step 2. Set your pot back on the stove (the burner should be off at this point). 
2. Take your clove of garlic and peel all the papery bits off of it. If it's starting to sprout like mine, just cut or pinch the tip off. No worries, the sprouts are 100% edible too. Now pour a little olive oil in your pot, just enough to cover the bottom. Turn the stove back on to low-medium heat. Crush or finely dice your garlic and drop it in the pot. It'll sizzle and look kinda bubbly. Stir the garlic around for a few minutes and when it starts looking golden brown and crispy, remove from heat. (Note: Now this is my first time frying garlic, and it was kind of accidental, to be honest. Therefore my directions may not be super accurate. This is just what worked for me today.)
3. Put all your pasta on your plate and pour the garlicy olive oil over top, stirring around so it's evenly coated. Sprinkle some parmesan on top. 
4. Go grab a fork and dig in! 

I was supposed to take a picture of my dinner, but I ate it all before I got done writing. Oops! If I make this meal again, I'll be sure to take a photo.