20 Minute One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

I know I'm not alone when I say that a lot of the recipes I try come from Pinterest. Sure, I still crack open my cookbooks now and then to try something new, but Pinterest is so convenient. Plus, I find a lot of great food blogs that way. I've no idea how I stumbled upon this gem but this is a pasta dish that is here to stay. I'm seriously making this for dinner, again, after I finish typing this post.

I've made this dish twice now. However, the first time I made this, I looked at the water to pasta ratio and thought, "There is no way this is going to turn out. I'm going to end up with soup". Do not be fooled like I was. Do not, I repeat DO NOT drain out some of the water... like I did. Trust me in this. I did just that and wound up with bone dry pasta that I ended up adding sink water to in order to eat. It's kinda like that science experiment you did in elementary school with the baking soda and vinegar. You know the one. You look at the two components and think, "There's no way this is going to... HOLY COW! IT'S A VOLCANO!" Yeah, that's how I felt the second time around when I actually followed the directions. I started with what looked like the beginnings of spaghetti soup and wound up with a mouth watering alfredo that took one pot, about twenty minutes, and little time on my part in the kitchen to make.

adapted from Damn Delicious

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 zucchini, thinly sliced and quartered
• 2/3 c. peas (fresh or frozen)
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 sprigs thyme
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/3 c. grated Parmesan
• 1/4 c. heavy cream

1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, garlic, thyme and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and heavy cream.
3. Serve immediately.

*UPDATE*
I've tried making this with quinoa spaghetti and it did not turn out at all. The pasta clumped into slimy clump and it didn't soak up as much water as normal pasta would.