20 Minute Healthy Pasta

Making dinner so often feels like a chore. Don’t get me wrong I love cooking, but so often I work my tail off in the kitchen just to sit down for dinner and force my kids to eat something they hate. They will eat spaghetti and macaroni. And beyond that everything else is pretty much a battle. This makes it suuuper hard to get my kids to eat veggies. I've tried everything from "hiding" veggies in Mac and Cheese, to serving zucchini bread for goodness sake and still it gets a wrinkled up nose. I made this pasta the other day pretty much accepting the fact that my kids were going to complain, but to my surprise they didn’t. In fact, they liked it. and And best of all, it's loaded with veggies! It's quick. It's easy. And it's simply delicious. What more could a mama ask for? I modified this recipe off of one I found on one of my favorite recipe websites, www.cookingclassy.com. 

Spring Vegetable Pasta Primevera

10 oz. dry short Pasta. I like gluten-free penne or rotini for this dish.
Salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced 
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, sliced 
1 medium yellow squash, sliced 
1 medium zucchini, sliced 
3 - 4 cloves garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (heaping) grape tomatoes, halved through the length
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/2 cup pasta water
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded parmesan, divided
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

 
Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
2. Heat Olive Oil over medium heat.
3. Sautee onions and carrots for two minutes.
4. Add broccoli and bell pepper and cook until peppers are soft.
5. Toss in zucchini, garlic and grape tomatoes and sautéed for another two minutes.
6. Add Italian seasoning and lemon juice.
7. Drain pasta once done cooking and toss the warm pasta together with the veggies. Stir in parmesan cheese. Add reserved water if needed.
8. Top with fresh parsley and enjoy!