One Pot Pasta Primavera

I've never seen my dear, sweet, hard working husband more stressed out. I hate seeing him this way. Today I felt like the only thing I could do for him was welcome him home (bullet hole and all) to a clean house and a nice satisfying meal (which he hasn't seen much of lately).

I found THIS recipe on The Vegetarian Times website tried it and really loved it. It also couldn't have been easier to make and it's vegan (if you leave out the Parmesan - which I don't think it absolutely needs anyway).

One Pot Pasta Primavera

3 TBS olive oil
1 TBS garlic, minced (I used more)
1 tsp grated lemon peel
8 oz Fusilli pasta (I used whole grain pasta and the box was like 13.5 oz - I used the whole thing)
2 small yellow squash, halved and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium orange red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used a red pepper)
8 oz of broccoli florets (I used frozen)
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (I used 1 carton of grape tomatoes)
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn or coarsely chopped
Grated Parmesan (optional)
Salt and Pepper

1. Start water boiling. Combine oil, garlic and lemon zest together and let sit.
2. While water is heating up, prepare all vegetables, keeping separate.
3. Add pasta to boiling salted water. Cook about 5 minutes then add squash and red pepper. Cook one more minute and then add broccoli. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of hot pasta water and then drain.
4. Turn heat down to a medium low. Add pasta and all vegetables back into the pot with the olive oil mixture. Stir to combine. Add 1/2 the pasta water to start and cook pasta and vegies just a couple minutes longer to finish off noodles and coat everything really well. Add in a little more if needed.
5. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add grated Parmesan if desired on individual portions.

I served this with homemade Italian bread (I used this recipe) and it is just turned out to be the best dinner we've had in a really long time!