One Pot Pasta – after cooking

My passion for cooking is widely known by my friends.  Even throughout the years when it was just the three of us, I loved to cook as many nights a week as I was able.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love to go out for sushi, but most nights I just want to enjoy the quiet cooking process with some music and a glass of wine.  Over the years I have become quite proficient in cooking for three people.

Things are different now since 50% of the time I am cooking for six people instead of three.  I was never good at portions to begin with and now I am just wayyyyy off.  I am, however, learning certain recipes that will feed us all with little left over.

I have a recipe book I keep on my computer that I keep updated with all of my favorite recipes (yes, please refer to yesterday’s blog about my need for structure) and I am constantly adding new recipes to it if they are a wild success with my husband and my kids.

Last night I tried the “Tomato Basil Pasta” that has been circulating Facebook and Pinterest.  It is a one pot pasta that is supposed to be ready in less than 30 minutes.  Recipe below:

I am known for my inability to follow even the simplest recipe.  I tweak and twist and change until the recipe is my own – so much so that when I give people recipes they complain that it doesn’t taste the same because I change everything so much as I am cooking.

For this recipe, I only changed a little.  I used 2 tsp of the minced jarred garlic instead of fresh garlic and I sauteed the onion before I put it in the pot.  I like onions to be cooked really well, so I rarely put raw onion in anything.

What it looked like when it was ready to cook!

Joe sauteed some shrimp as well to put on top of the pasta which was a highly recommended upgrade to this pasta.

The kids complained about it being a little too spicy, so I may use 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes next time to appease them, but other than that I think this is a great recipe and will easily feed our party of six.  We served it with a little fresh pineapple on the side (which was perfect to convince the kids it wasn’t too terribly spicy) and a LOT of freshly grated parmesan cheese on top.

If you have any “go-to” recipes that you want to share, please do!  I am always looking for new recipes.  I am going to try to post a new recipe every Thursday as part of my “Tasty Thursday” blog.  I will work on taking better pictures for the next one…. Enjoy!!!