Let's discuss the Italian Wonderpot, shall we?
About a year ago, I stumbled across a pin for this recipe and it
seemed ridiculously easy. Throw a bunch of crap into a pot at the same
time and 20 minutes later, you'll be eating a full meal.
Being the busy full-time-working-mom of a 4 month old at the time, I thought - this must be the answer! Sure enough - it worked. And it wasn't half bad. And it made enough for us to enjoy for 2 days.
Let's back track a little. I'm not exactly the most domestic person you'll ever meet. To be completely honest, I just don't cook. Ever. I don't enjoy it. I also don't have time for it. Sure, I see all of the yummy meals peoplewho don't have children make and photograph in my Instagram feed, but when I'm pushing
that shopping cart through Publix on Sunday afternoon - wishing I was
anywhere except the grocery store - I'm pretty unadventurous.
I've tried to use the crock pot in the past, but it really pisses me off when I have to do things such as "brown meat" or "caramelize onions" before adding them - I mean - ain't nobody got time for that! You know what I'm saying? I thought the purpose of the crock pot is that you can just dump everything in and let it sit for 8 hours while you enjoy the delicious smell of home-cooked food being prepared in your house while you sit on the couch and watch Property Brothers. I didn't know you had to actually COOK and (dare I say) dirty up your pots and pans that you will later have to (dare I say) clean!
Being the busy full-time-working-mom of a 4 month old at the time, I thought - this must be the answer! Sure enough - it worked. And it wasn't half bad. And it made enough for us to enjoy for 2 days.
Let's back track a little. I'm not exactly the most domestic person you'll ever meet. To be completely honest, I just don't cook. Ever. I don't enjoy it. I also don't have time for it. Sure, I see all of the yummy meals people
I've tried to use the crock pot in the past, but it really pisses me off when I have to do things such as "brown meat" or "caramelize onions" before adding them - I mean - ain't nobody got time for that! You know what I'm saying? I thought the purpose of the crock pot is that you can just dump everything in and let it sit for 8 hours while you enjoy the delicious smell of home-cooked food being prepared in your house while you sit on the couch and watch Property Brothers. I didn't know you had to actually COOK and (dare I say) dirty up your pots and pans that you will later have to (dare I say) clean!
Back to the Wonderpot. I've made it a few times - none of which ever duplicated the deliciousness of that very first time, but it is what it is - a warm meal that takes basically no time at all except cutting up some veggies.
Since then, I've been on a search for other such meals that require very little to absolutely no effort on my part. I came across this one and decided to give it a go! One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta.
Ingredients with substitutions |
I did work up quite a sweat though - walking around the kitchen with a camera dangling from my neck while my husband gave me strange looks, and my little sous chef kept checking in on me as he tried to break down our barrier.
My son's dish - obviously, I don't cut up food for myself or my husband. |
Result: Pinterest Success - even if it doesn't look nearly as appetizing as the original.