One Pot Pasta

Anytime I find a recipe that requires only one pot to prepare, I am willing to give it a try.  This recipe was a hit in our family!  I love it because with the garden season in full swing I can add whatever fresh veggies are around and it will be like a whole new dish.  The basic idea for this came from Martha Stewart's website. I didn't follow it exactly.. so here is my version.

One Pot Pasta

Ingredients:

12 oz uncooked spaghetti noodles  

1-2 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half

4 cloves of garlic chopped

1 large onion sliced into thin pieces

1 handful of basil rough chopped

3 or 4 TBS of butter

1 tsp of red pepper flakes (this can be changed to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

4 1/2 cups of water

My basil plant.

Get out a large skillet. Lay your spaghetti noodles in the pan. Add your tomatoes, garlic, onion, almost all the basil, butter, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and lastly add 4 1/2 cups of water.  Place on the stove at medium heat and let the pasta dish cook until almost all of the water has evaporated and the noodles are tender (about 10 or 12 min). Chop the rest of your basil and toss with the pasta before serving.

All of the ingredients ready to cook.

Finished pasta

When the noodles cook the starch makes an almost creamy sauce, you will be so surprised at the wonderful flavor this dish has! If your family is like mine and think meat is necessary with every meal, you could easily slice a grilled chicken breast over the top of this and it would be great.  We think this is really tasty when paired with grilled salmon.  I can't wait until my cherry tomatoes are ripe and zucchini are ready.  It is so fun to cook with things I grow. Hope you enjoy this easy dish!

Try it out and let us know what you think!  Comments make our day!!

Melissa