Vegetable Pasta

Pasta really fills you up and is good for you. Whole wheat pasta has more fiber than regular pasta and that is even better. I made this recipe on a week night with in no time. The recipe turned out to be really delicious that my husband and I couldn't stop eating :) The following recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:
10oz whole wheat spaghetti pasta
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion - chopped
16oz can crushed tomatoes
2 medium size zucchini - cut into thin match sticks
1 cup frozen peas
8 - 10 broccoli stems
3 cloves of garlic - finely minced
1/2 cup half and half
1 large red bell pepper - cut into strips
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chicken stock (vegetarians can use vegetable stock or water is fine too)
salt to taste - around one teaspoon
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
chili flakes - 1/2 teaspoon (optional or adjust to your spice level)

Method: 
Bring a big pot of water to boil and season the water with salt (this is your only chance to season the pasta), add the pasta and cook until aldente(almost cooked but still has a bite to it).

Heat a pan over medium high heat and add olive oil. Saute the onions for about 4 minutes or until the onions start to turn translucent. Add zucchini and saute for another 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, basil, red bell pepper, broccoli and saute for another 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken stock.  Turn the heat up to high and let the veggies cook for 3 minute until the mixture is thick enough for a sauce. Stir in the milk (half and half) and peas and let the mixture cook for another 2-3 minutes. Finally add the cooked pasta and cheese and mix it well for 30 seconds. Bon Appetit :)

Tips and More:

• Cut your cooking time by10 minutes. While you cook your sauce, try to cook the pasta too, not one after the other.
• You can really be so versatile with this dish. When I cooked this dish, the vegetables I used were the ones I got in my fridge that day. But you can use carrots, mushrooms, corn etc. Add parsley for more flavor or replace basil with parsley
• You can also add chicken for additional protein (pasta has protein in it).