Foodie Fridays: Italian Wonderpot

   I loved trying out this recipe for several reasons:

1. It's super quick and easy (Lazy-day hack anyone?)
2. It sounds so fancy (Way to impress!)
3. I got to use spices that have lingered in my kitchen for ages. Who knew basil could be so amazing.
4. The end-result was delicious!

   I initially got the recipe from this site. When it came down to it, I realized that I had macaroni instead of spaghetti...and a vegetable mix instead of spinach, among other things I chose to substitute. But I decided to soldier-on. Once I get an idea in my head, the rest is ancient history. Experimenting definitely paid off, so here goes:

Ingredients
4 cups water/vegetable broth
2 cups macaroni
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup chopped vegetable mix
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 medium onion
4 cloves garlic
½ Tbsp dried basil
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper

Method
1. Add four cups of water to a large pot. Add the macaroni, tomatoes, cooking oil, vegetables, onion (thinly sliced), garlic (thinly sliced), basil and cayenne pepper.

Just throw it all in there

2. Ensure that the ingredients are submerged under the liquid, cover with a lid and turn the heat up to high while stirring occasionally. Once the liquid is boiling, uncover and turn down the heat to medium.

3. Allow the pot to continue to boil over medium heat, without a lid, for 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir gently every few minutes as it cooks to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom.

4. Remove from the heat and serve hot. I chose to have mine with a beef stew just to have a balanced meal.

All done!

Dinner time

Bon appetite!