Recently I’ve been intrigued by some “One Pot Pasta” recipes I’ve seen on Pinterest. I couldn’t imagine they’d really taste as good as promised, but I had to give it a try to see for myself. (Mostly because I will use any excuse cook with my new Le Creuset Dutch Oven!) And of course, I couldn’t just follow a recipe exactly so I used what ingredients I had on hand to make it different. Our next door neighbor just gave us a BUNCH of yellow squash from his garden, so I knew I would be using some of those bad boys in this pasta!

The basic idea of this pasta is that everything (water included) goes in the pot all at once. You bring all the ingredients to a boil, then take it down to a simmer for about 15 minutes. The water is absorbed by the pasta, along with all the yummy flavors of the herbs, veggies and seasonings. Once all the liquid is gone, the pasta is cooked and you toss it with a little cream and Parmesan Cheese, and…its…DELICIOUS! Who knew?!

Everyone goes in the (beautiful, awesome, lovely, new) pot before boiling.

One Pot Garden Pasta

*I made my recipe a little smaller than other versions I’ve seen online- enough to serve 3 if it’s your meal (maybe 5 servings if it’s served as a side dish.)

Ingredients

1/2 pound thin spaghetti

2 cups of water

1/2 pint of mushrooms (sliced)

1 (big) yellow squash

1 cup of corn (frozen or fresh)

1 clove of garlic (chopped)

2 sprigs of thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

About 1/4 cup heavy cream

About 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Put all ingredients (except cream and cheese) in a big pot or Dutch Oven and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let cook about 15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and the water is all absorbed. Then, add cream and cheese and toss until the pasta is coated. (Add additional salt or pepper to taste.)

And it’s seriously that easy. But best of all, we got to use Brady’s thyme from the herb garden that he’s been helping me water every day and a home grown squash. Brady was quite the helper today. We were working on learning to cut the vegetables and he took the job so seriously. There was a whole lot of ownership over this meal!

This meal was yummy, veggie packed, kid friendly, and too easy not to try!