One-Pot Vegetable Ziti

Date night is a sacred event in our schedule. Zac and I have had a date night every week for over a year now. Every Tuesday or Thursday, we make it a point to make (or buy) something special for dinner, watch a show or play a game, and go to bed at the same time. We don’t do date night because we don’t get a lot of time together throughout the week; we do this because we know that even when life gets busy with kids, we will have built the habit of taking time for each other, a habit we won’t easily break. This week I made up a super tasty recipe that was also super easy so that I didn’t cut into our date night. This recipe definitely ideal for an Instant Pot (counter top pressure cooker) because you can make it ahead of time and leave it, but it would also work on the stove top (I bet it would work in a crock pot too if you’re adept at those...I’m not). I paired it with cottage cheese and rosemary, lemon, and fennel grilled chicken which was AMAZING but it would also be super good on its own! (Just make sure you still get protein!)

Some notes about the ingredients: you can leave out the cheese to make it dairy free but the cheddar cheese is really the secret ingredient that makes this meal SO GOOD. Also, I didn’t add measurements for the seasonings because I BELIEVE IN YOU! Sprinkle them in, go with your gut, and don’t be afraid of trial and error. As long as you’re not pouring in seasoning by the tablespoon, it will turn out great!

Instant Pot (or Stove Top) Ziti

Prep Time: 20 minutes ~ Total Time 40 minutes to 4 hours

Servings: 5

Ingredients:

~3 cans tomato sauce

~3 small or 2 medium zucchini, diced

~1 red bell pepper, diced

~1 ½ to 2 cups ziti pasta

~¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese (I actually used 3 cheddar cheese slices, crumbled up)

~Seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder (or 2 cloves of fresh garlic), basil, Italian seasoning, salt

Instructions:

~Pour tomato sauce in a large pot or Instant Pot. Add the zucchini, bell pepper and cheese.

~Sprinkle a light dusting of seasonings so that they cover the top of the sauce and vegetable mixture. Stir thoroughly.

~Cook on medium low for 1-3 hours, or in the pressure cooker for 15 minutes. (The longer it cooks the better. If you use the instant pot, I would recommend pressure cooking for 15 minutes and letting it slow release while staying on ‘Keep Warm’ until about 15 minutes before it’s time for dinner.)

~Add the dry pasta and cook for another 10-30 minutes (again, the longer the better), or in the instant pot for 5 minutes.

~Optional: Serve with cottage cheese and grilled rosemary chicken.