One Pot Veggie Packed Pasta Primavera

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This one-pot pasta is perfect for date night at home. It is loaded with veggies, flavor, and fun for a romantic date night in!

Since it is the month of Love, I wanted to share some things I love: Pasta, no mess easy meals, and my family. So today I am going to share my love story with you guys, along with this fun date night recipe, and my 3 tips for having a happy, satisfying, and amazing relationship with your significant other.  This post has some silly stories from my past, my “how we met” story, and more! Enjoy.

My husband and I met on the freeway.

We were both on road trips with our friends, and drove past one another. He was in a car full of guys, I was in a car full of girls, so naturally we started talking. With paper, held up to the windows. Guys, this really dates me, but I was in college, and I did not have a cell phone!

Top left: The guys who were in the car. Top Right: Us goofing around while dating Middle Left: My friends while we were dating Middle Right: The Scooter we went everywhere on. Bottom Left: How young does he look?

Anyway, one thing led to another, and we stopped at a gas station and met. He got in the car with my friends, I was still in the gas station buying a drink, and they left. His friends had his keys, but none of them could drive a stick shift. So, I ended up driving his car back to the city we both lived in.

When we got back, he asked for my number. And that night we went on a date. He was super cute, I really liked him, and luckily for me, he felt the same way. To make a very long and oh so complicated story short, we fell in love, and about a year later we got married. We now have 4 beautiful children.

I am still crazy about the guy. So I wanted to tell you guys about a few of the things that have really helped our marriage.

1. Date nights
2. Celebrating US
3. Changing our ideas of what “perfect” looks like

Date Night

Honestly this is the MOST important tip I can share: Have regular date nights. Every single week if you can.

With kids, jobs, hobbies, etc. it can be hard to find time for each other and our relationship unless we MAKE time for it. And one way we do this is regular date nights.  In our 11+ years of being married, we have only missed 2-3 of our weekly date nights.

We like to go out, but when we can’t make that work (because of a brand new baby or sick spouse or something) we still have a date at home. So today I am going to share one of my favorite meals for date night at home. It is my favorite because it is one pot  (less mess for me to clean up), literally takes only 15 minutes to get it on the table, and it tastes AMAZING. Did I mention it is so easy to make?!

There are so many good one pot pasta ideas out on the web, so I combined a bunch of them and added my own twist to create this one:
Looks good huh? Well it sure is, and it is great for making a night in feel special without much work! Literally only 10 minutes!

So if you’re looking for ways to make your at home date night special– make this!!

Celebrate Us

Usually when someone thinks about celebrating love and relationships they think of Valentine’s Day. Historically our Valentine’s Days have been kind of a flop.

Our first married Valentine’s I was trying to surprise my hubby, so I made a scavenger hunt, and hid in the closet, he was supposed to find me. Well, it scared him so bad when he opened the closet that he was mad at me. Which lead to me being mad at him. We did not have fun.

Haha, our Valentine’s Days since haven’t been much better, product of having a hubby who is a general manager of a restaurant. Kind of a busy day for him. But I don’t mind because we decided a long time ago our relationship wasn’t about how we celebrated Valentine’s Day, it was about us. It was not about the holiday, and making it into this big deal, but rather the love we have for each other.  This shift in attitude has lead to a far more enjoyable and intimate Valentine’s Day, and a lot less frustration and resentment.

So now my hubby works all day, then he comes home, and I usually rub his tired feet, and we enjoy a home cooked meal together.

Change Your Definition of a “Perfect” Relationship

This one has been so hard for me. I have this idea in my head of what our relationship should look like. And it doesn’t. And so I get frustrated.

I think everyone understands this to some degree. I want my husband to “care enough” to anticipate what I need, so I don’t have to ask. I want every moment to be passionate, comedic, and idealistic. But the truth is, that is just not realistic. Real life happens, dirty diapers happen, financial stresses happen.

My advice: get over this idea in your head of what the “perfect” marriage looks like, and instead focus on just making yours a bit better every day.

We do that with date nights, by continually reminding ourselves of the good instead of hyper-focusing on the negative things (because there are plenty of those), and by seeking to increase our intimacy. I don’t just mean physical intimacy, although that is important too (and K-Y® can help).

This is how my hubby and I celebrate romance and each other on Valentine’s Day and all year long. How do you celebrate this special occasion?

One Pot Veggie Packed Pasta Primavera

This one-pot pasta is perfect for date night at home. It is loaded with veggies, flavor, and fun for a romantic date night in!

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: One pot, pasta primavera, veggie

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 304kcal

Author: Rachael

Ingredients

• 3 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 8 ounces linguine uncooked
• 1 small white onion sliced thin
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups asparagus cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup sliced white mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh green beans snipped
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 1 tsp garlic granuals
• 2-3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 Tbs dried parsley
• 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped thin
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese
• zest of 1 lemon and 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste About a tsp each

Instructions

• In a large pot add chicken stock, linguine, onion, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, green beans, garlic, garlic granuals, paprika, salt and pepper to a large pot set over medium-high heat.
• Get your olive oil, and drizzle it over the top.
• Bring everything to a boil, and as soon as it boils give it a stir, or toss with some tongs.
• You will need to do this until the noodles start to soften, but aren't soft yet,(about 6-7 minutes).
• After about 6-7 minutes add in your peas, parsley, basil, heavy whipping cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and parmesan.
• Toss for 1-2 more minutes, until veggies and pasta are both tender.
• Remove from heat.
• Let the pasta sit and the sauce thicken
• Taste and season a little more.
• Garnish with extra basil, Parmesan, and fresh tomatoes if desired,

Nutrition

Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 599mg | Potassium: 576mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1305IU | Vitamin C: 54.8mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 2.8mg

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

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