Recipe: Delicious Dinner - Easy One Pot Pasta Puttanesca

So ... I haven't posted in awhile. 

That's because, we decided somewhat impulsively to put our house on the market. 

And ... we think it's sold.  Fingers crossed.  (Inspections pending).

More on that in a future post, once everything clears. 

Anyway, for those of you who haven't had to sell a house before, just know that you have to keep EVERYTHING in 100% clean, pristine condition at all times.  I call it museum house - pretty to look at, but don't touch. 

Imagine owning a museum house with a 2 year old toddler.  It's loads of fun.  Especially when I'm trying to still cook somewhat healthy meals for our family and avoid eating out as much as possible.

Needless to say, finding options to cook in the house that:

     (1) don't make too much mess
          -or-
     (2) don't smell up the house

... it's been challenging. 

Thankfully, I found this recipe, quite by accident actually (some page on Facebook I follow posted it or something, I don't recall).  Internet to the rescue!

I improvised the above recipe somewhat, as I prefer not to use store bought pasta sauce.  And if I don't say so myself, the end result was quite good. 

Fair warning: my dish ended up a little more saucy than some might prefer, but I like a saucier dish.  If you prefer something with less sauce, try using the smaller size of tomato sauce (12-18oz) rather than the larger (24ish ounces). I would also recommend starting with 1.5 cans of chicken stock, and then adding the remaining 1/2 can as needed.

Enjoy!


-----

Easy One Pot Pasta Puttanesca

*photo per the original link above, below recipe is my amended version

Ingredients

• 1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion (smaller, 12-18 oz size)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning (smaller, 12-18 oz size)
• 1 can plain tomato sauce (larger, 24oz+/- size)
• 1 can tomato paste (smaller, 5-6oz size)
• 2 cans reduced sodium chicken stock (smaller, 12-18 oz size)
• 1 box whole wheat pasta, any style (I used rotini, 13-14 oz size)
• 1 can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 8 oz pitted and halved kalamata olives
• 2-3 tablespoons capers
• crushed red pepper and garlic to taste

Directions

Place uncooked pasta in large pot.  Cover with chicken stock, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes (do not drain diced tomatoes).

Continue to add in remaining ingredients, being careful to ensure pasta stays covered with liquid.  I gently placed the artichokes, tomato paste, olives, capers, etc on top and chose not to stir until the base liquid began to simmer.

When simmering begins, gently stir every 1-2 minutes. 

Cook until pasta is desired texture, typically 8-10 minutes.  Serve as is, topped with your favorite cheese, or with a side of meatballs or Italian chicken.

Makes a very large dish.  Will feed 4-6 hungry adults, likely with leftovers to spare.