I’ve been making a version of this for a long time: a clean, simple recipe with tomatoes, onion and spinach over penne. And was happy with the results because as long as the ingredients are fresh, it was a fast dinner. Then I got a new version in our send-me-a-box-of-dinner subscription and it’s got improvements, but left out my favorite parts: the spinach and onions. This is my updated recipe:

DINNER INGREDIENTS:

• olive oil (or what you like, but I do everything with EVOO. And ohmygosh you can get this on subscription now!)
• 1 zucchini
• 1 onion
• 1-2 pints of cherry tomatoes
• 4 oz. mushrooms (if you like them)
• a handful of fresh spinach
• 1/4 oz. chives <this is a really nice touch!
• 1 lemon
• pasta – I prefer penne or a shape like it for this recipe
• 1 tsp.-ish Italian seasoning
• 1/4 c-ish of veg stock
• 1-1/2 TBSP. butter/Earth Balance

VEGGIE PASTA DIRECTIONS:

1. Clean your veg. Cook pasta in a salted pot of water- you might want to wait until you’ve got some of the veg already done to get everything done at the same time.
2. Slice veg: zucchini into 1/2-inch pieces, slice mushrooms and onion, mince chives, cut lemon, slice tomatoes in half.
3. Sauté zucchini in a little olive oil, first, about 4-6 minutes until soft. Add salt/pepper.
4. If you include mushrooms, remove the zucchini and then do the same with mushrooms.
5. Sauté onion. When done, you can add Sauté onion. When done, you can add back the zucchini and mushrooms back in.
6. While pasta cooks, melt butter with a small bit of olive oil in the veggie pan.
7. Add tomatoes and Italian seasoning and cook for a minute or two.
   • How much seasoning? You’re the chef. You do you.
8. Stir in juice from 1/2 lemon and half the chives.
9. With heat on low, add in spinach (or green leafy veg) and stock.
10. Add in zucchini, mushrooms, and 1 TBSP butter/Earth Balance — heat until butter melts.
11. Serve over pasta.

PRO TIPS:

Make this gluten free by switching out traditional pasta for any gluten-free variety. There’s no gluten in veggies or anything else in this dish.

Use whatever veggies you like! Just remember to cut veggies smaller and cook “harder” veggies first as they take longer. Anything like broccoli or carrots will take longer than things like tomatoes, which barely need 30 seconds.

Just remember: Good food is all about quality ingredients. You don’t need a lot of things if what you do use is fresh. It’s worth spending a few extra minutes in the produce aisle or going to a farmer’s market if you can pick the best quality.