A fuss free one pot pasta recipe that is flavorful and comes together in less than 30 minutes with the added bonus of very few dishes to clean up.

One pot pasta recipe

Convenient meals. Thats what we are looking for. Or at least I am, especially in this humid and hot as anything climate.

There are certain dishes I like sweating it out for. Sometimes the pleasure of spending time on a recipe brings the most flavor out of the dish. The chocolate ghiya ice cream is one such dish I don’t mind spending a significant amount in the kitchen. Probably because the entire process reminds me of my grandmom, and its my way of feeling some connection to her since I can no longer see her in person. There are other such recipes, but then there are meals you want to spend the least amount of time in the kitchen- either cooking or doing dishes. Today’s one pot pasta recipe lets you do just that.

What’s one pot pasta?

For a long time, I have seen one pot pasta recipes. It was all the rage when Martha Stewart/Nora Singley posted a recipe for it in 2013. You can read more about the discovery of the recipe here. Its only recently that I gave it a try and its been a game changer.

What is one pot pasta? Basically, you cook everything including the pasta in a single pot. No step of boiling the pasta separately, making the sauce separately and then mixing the two. Here everything goes in one pot and gets cooked for the same duration as you would your pasta when boiling separately. And voila, you have your meal ready, with only one pot to clean.

Why make one pot pasta?

Umm… because you only need to clean one pot. Do you need any other reason?

Full disclosure, you would also have the chopping board and the knife to clean, and the mug/measuring glass you use to add the stock/water. But yes, you can remove the second pot you need for boiling the pasta, and the colander for draining cooked pasta from your post cooking washing list. Even two dishes less to wash is a win.

But besides the slightly quicker method, and lesser dishes, do you get good results? With this recipe, you do. Anubhav and I were pleasantly surprised as to how good the pasta tasted. And how easy it was. You get a nice creamy pasta without any addition of cream thanks to the all the starchy water that the pasta releases. And the pasta is so flavorful since its cooked in the tomato-ey liquid.

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CheeseCake Factory Avocado Egg Rolls #copycat #recipe by the Novice Housewife

Before leaving for Canada, on a trip to my favorite antique place an hour away from where we stay, I got a good deal on a second hand copy of Todd Wilbur’s copycat recipes. The moment I got it I instantly bookmarked the recipes I wanted to try. One of the recipes I adapted for my Bruschetta post. The other, I am sharing today- Cheesecake Factory’s Copycat recipe for avocado egg rolls.

To be honest I have never tried the avocado egg rolls at the Cheesecake Factory. But the description of the recipe and the ingredients in its dipping sauce- tamarind, cashews, honey sure intrigued me to give it a try.

CheeseCake Factory Avocado Egg Rolls #copycat #recipe by the Novice Housewife

I made these egg rolls for the coffee I hosted the Friday that went and my friends really liked them. Then I made them again the next day and V really liked them. As for me, if something is fried, I always like it. Plus, I love avocado. And sun dried tomatoes. And tamarind based dipping sauces. Plus, I love it when things that I love come together pretty quickly as well. Bottom line, I love them!

There is hardly any prep required. The only part that I don’t like is the chopping of the onions- which left me in tears, like it always does. But besides that, the pre-prep is a breeze. And  you have delicious egg rolls in no time.

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Barring a few little frustrating events that happened, yesterday was a good day. It started with the wonderful news that my parents’ Canadian visa got through just a day before their flight. Had it not, they would have been with me this weekend, but at a cost of losing a few hundred dollars in flight cancellation, re-booking, etc. My mom’s parents and her brother stay in Canada and my parents’ plan was to first visit them and then come visit me. They have a ten year US visa but they needed a Canadian Visa. Never thinking that their Canadian Visa would pose any problem, they had booked their tickets some time back. But the Visa did cause a lot of last minute panic, and only a day before their flight to Canada did their passport arrive with the Canadian Visa stamped.

Happy with the news and excited that my parents will be visiting me two weeks from now, I left for the baby shower we were throwing for the mommy-to-bes. It was a triple baby shower and all three of the ladies are having boys, that too only a week apart from each other!

It was a fun filled baby shower with great food. We, bunch of ladies, could open a great restaurant with all the talented cooks we have. On the menu was  chicken enchilada, olive  mozarella salad, linguine pasta, homemade bread (which was really good), olive, pickle n ham on a stick, (taking a break to breath and wipe off the drool) BLT sandwiches, pakodas, jello snicker rice krispies, chinese noodles, lettuce and french dressed avocado and my contribution lentil samosas and mini oreo sandwich “cake”.

After a great time catching up and seeing the three mommy-to-bes tear up after opening their presents, I was back home to Target greeting me as soon as I opened our gate.

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