One Pot Pasta In A Flash

Since we are eating bigger lunches and itty bitty dinners these days, I was looking for a good, quick pasta dish to make the other day (I will not live in a world without pasta, I don't care how healthy I am trying to be), and I came across this one.  After tweaking it a bit for my family, I tested it, and it was a hit!

I hope it is for your family too!

Here goes:

In a good sized pot, dump a bunch of uncooked pasta.  I used roughly 12 oz, and I think I will be eating it all week.  Also, I used penne.  Because I love penne.  Feel free to use whatever you love.  Here it is:

To the uncooked pasta add a handful of fresh basil:

Just chop it up and throw it in there.  It's pretty.  See:

Guess what?  I got that basil right off of my own basil plant.  Grew it right on my porch.  I guess I can grow something after all. *Stands back in amazement, nearly collapses*

Than add a can of diced tomatoes:

You could use fresh tomatoes too, if you have the time.  I didn't, so canned it was.  Would it help if they were low sodium?  In the interest of full disclosure, they weren't.  Oh well.

A whole lot of fresh garlic.  Really.  A. Whole. Lot.  Because garlic is good:

About a 1/4 cup of white wine, give or take (mostly give, of course.  Duh.):

And 1/2 a sliced onion:

Now give it all a good mix...

...And add about 3 1/2 - 4 cups of broth.  I used chicken, but you could use veggie if that is your thing:
 

A drizzle of olive oil:

And a pinch of Oregano, which I forgot to take a picture of.  *Sigh*

Give it all another good stir, bring it to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and let it go for about 7-10 minutes, stirring it every few minutes.  Remember, it is going to keep cooking after you turn off the heat, so better to stop a little underdone than to get it just perfect and have it be mushy 5 minutes later. 

That's it.  Seriously.  The pasta cooks in the broth, and what you are left with is a saucy pasta dish chock full of flavor.  Add whatever you want from there.  I plan to add some grilled chicken next time.  Oh, and sprinkle some parmesan over it.  That would probably make it perfect.
 

Quick.  Easy.  One pot.  What more could I want?

Except maybe some bread to go with it.  Because we all know how I feel about bread.  Very similar to how I feel about coffee.

What is your favorite fast lunch?