My Mid-Week Hero

Ugh, the dreaded week night dinner.

Thursdays tend to be the night that I want a home cooked meal, but I really don't want to spend a ton of time on it. Or on cleanup.

And I'm the queen of "what do I already have in the cupboard" because I don't want to do the 6:00 after-work-mad-dash to the grocery store.

I came across this One Pot Wonder Tomato Basil Pasta about recipe 5 years ago and it truly hit all of my needs.

Gather just nine ingredients, toss them all in the pot (including the uncooked pasta), let them simmer for 20 minutes -- dinner is DONE.

I love that it's pasta without that heavy "spaghetti feel" that tastes like you've been cooking forever. Plus it makes enough for lunch the next day.

If you're a gluten-free person, just switch the pasta to your favorite non-wheat alternative and adjust the broth accordingly.

Vegan? Omit the Parmesan cheese garnish at the end.

Staying meat-free keeps the prep mess and cook time down to the 20-30 minute mark, but I have the feeling a few Italian meatballs would be a delicious addition.

I hope you like this one....and be sure to give me a shout out if you make this mid-week dinner hero!

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One Pot Wonder Tomato Basil Pasta

ONE POT WONDER TOMATO BASIL PASTA RECIPE

Ingredients

• 12 ounces linguine pasta

• 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid ( I used zesty red pepper flavor style)

• 1 medium sweet onion, cut in ¼ inch julienne strips

• 4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves

• 4½ cups vegetable broth (use regular broth and NOT low sodium)

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1 bunch (about 10 to 12 leaves) basil, diced

• Parmesan cheese for garnish

Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano. Drizzle top with oil.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so.

Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated – I leave about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot – but you can reduce it down as you like.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add basil leaves and stir pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot evenly throughout the pasta as you are serving.

Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.