Almost Artful: Easy Sunday Pasta

Dinner time on Sunday I am usually wanting comfort food--but am also exhausted from a busy weekend and don't feel like spending hours in the kitchen.

Here are 2 of my favorite pasta dishes that take 20 minutes or less to make and very few ingredients. And, boy, are they delicious.

Remember, I don't usually follow measurements but I will do my best to figure it out for you. Both of these recipes make about 2 servings.

Recipe One: Mushroom and Lemon Pasta
I adapted this recipe from on of my favorite TV chefs--Nigella Lawson. Her version used all raw ingredients (except, obviously, the pasta) mine doesn't. I didn't exactly relish the idea of eating raw garlic.

1/2 package (I think it's a pint...) of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
Zest of 1 lemon
Glug of olive oil (A glug is a measurement I think I made up. It's probably about 1.5-2 tablespoons)
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
Thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon)
Thin Spaghetti, a little less than 1/2 package

Cook pasta according to box directions. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Set pasta aside.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan with the garlic. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until soft. Add lemon juice, thyme, and a little salt and pepper. if I have a little white wine, I'll reduce the amount of lemon juice and throw in a bit of wine.

Mushroom mixture--doesn't look the best. But trust me.

Put the pasta in a large bowl and stir in mushroom mixture and pasta water. Top with lemon zest and parsley (if you have it.)

Final result--yum!

Recipe Two: Zucchini with Creamy Goat Cheese Linguine
This is an amazing recipe adapted from Real Simple magazine. I cut most of the proportions in half (except the garlic) to make it 2 servings.

Little less than 1/2 box linguine
2 zucchini, thinly sliced into half moon shapes
1 clove garlic, minced
zest of about 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
2.5 ounces goat cheese (a little over half the usual sized package)

Cook pasta and transfer to large bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

In a saute pan, heat the olive oil. Add zucchini (with a little S &P) and cook, stirring often, until tender. About 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for a minute more. Remove from heat

Returning to the pasta, crumble most of the goat cheese in (leave a little to top the pasta with later), add pasta water and a little S&P. Stir to a state of creamy goodness.