My first pasta masterpiece!

Yes, you read correctly - MASTERPIECE. Let me explain. I've made pasta before. And I've made some great pasta dishes before. But nothing like this. This was perfection. My boyfriend had NO complaints, no suggestions... He even went for seconds!



I'm not one for measurements, so you'll never see that in any of the recipes I blog about, only desserts. Cooking isn't a science. It's an art. And it's supposed to be fun, not stressful!

To start, I cooked about 5 garlic cloves and 1/2 yellow onion in EVOO on low-medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then I threw in a can of diced tomatoes (un-salted, always) and one can of whole/peeled tomatoes that I previously blended to make it "saucier." I let that cook on medium heat for about 30-45 minutes, enough for the tomato sauce to cook down. If not, canned tomatoes will taste slightly bitter.

Then I added a handful of spinach, 1 cubed yellow squash, 1 cubed zucchini, and one can of cannellini beans. Turned the heat down to about a 4 (Yes, I unfortunately have an electric stove) and let it cook for about 20 minutes.



When it was finished, I turned the heat off and tossed in 1 lb. of whole wheat pasta and mixed it together. Sprinkle with some cheese and you have yourself a delicious dinner! And healthy!

Also, I'm a big fan of Bethenny Frankel's "Use what you have" motto. If you didn't have one of these vegetables, use a different one. I found some spinach and randomly threw that in. That wasn't in my original idea. Just go for it and be creative!