Quick & Easy Pasta

You might think that I always love to be in the kitchen by the title of my blog but let me tell you there are many times I seriously hate to be in the kitchen! Sometimes it just is near impossible to get dinner ready when I have my 4 year old begging that we go play outside and my 1 1/2 year old demanding that I hold him. Times like that when getting dinner ready is crazy, it sure is nice to have a quick but delicious recipe to throw together.

This pasta is one of our favorites. All I do is saute whatever vegetables I have on hand, add a jar of pasta sauce to it and cooked pasta and dinner is served! It’s so easy and so good! And you know the best part?…

These two cuties are big fans of this pasta!  Levi (on the left) kept asking for more and Asher loves it too!

I love that this recipe is so adaptable. It’s hardly a recipe at all. Another bonus is that you use up veggies you have on hand and don’t have to worry about your food going bad.

Here is what I did. I sauteed, onions, garlic, zucchini and spinach. Added a jar of Italian Sausage with peppers and onions pasta sauce. I like using that type of pasta sauce because it has meat in it but I don’t have to take the effort to cook some up.  Cooked up about 2 1/2 cups of pasta wheels (because my kids love them!) and then mixed that in along with a chopped tomato and basil from our garden. Then topped it with ground pepper, Parmesan and red pepper flakes. Da-lish!

Quick & Easy Pasta

Love to be in the Kitchen Original Recipe
Ingredients:
Vegetables (onions, zucchini, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, garlic, spinach etc. chopped)
1 jar pasta sauce (about 24 oz.)
2-2 1/2 cups pasta (pasta wheels, penne etc.)
vegetables or herbs to add-in (tomatoes, basil, parsley etc.)
toppings (Parmesan cheese, ground pepper, red pepper flakes etc.)

Directions:
Set a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and a generous pinch of salt and cook until al dente (usually about 1 minute less than package directions.)

Meanwhile, add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a large saucepan on medium heat. Once heated up, add the onions it using, once soft (about 4-5 minutes) add the rest of the vegetables except garlic and spinach (if using) and saute until slightly tender. If using garlic, add that and saute for about a minute, then if using spinach add that last and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the pasta sauce and stir. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and then mix that in along with any additional vegetables or herbs. Top with desired toppings and enjoy!