One-Pot-Pasta?

I caught wind of that "9-minute linguine" recipe that was floating around recently, and decided to see what was up.  It looked pretty basic, so I jazzed it up a bit.  Let's see if it's all it's cracked up to be.

First off, I browned some mushrooms.

Then I grabbed some orecchiette, chopped up some tomatoes, sliced onion and garlic, and picked a bit of basil.

Then I put it all in a pan with some water.  I know.  I know.  I also added salt, and crushed red pepper.

Bring it to a boil, and let the water cook out.  Stir well.

When it's about halfway down, I tossed in some roast chicken I had lying around.  Check the pasta to see if it's done, and adjust for flavor.  If it's not done, add a little more water, and then check again.

Amazingly, it does seem to be creating its own sauce.  Because I gotta be me, I threw in some shredded kale.  Because health.  Or trend.  Or something.

When the pasta's done, and the sauce is as thick as you want it to be, spoon it into a bowl, add lemon and parmesan cheese, and have at it.  Total time: 20 minutes from browning the mushrooms to plate.

Tasting notes: It's supposed to be a sauce, sure, but even so the flavors seemed a bit muddled together.  Plus, the tomatoes never really broke down enough to change their character.  I think I may try this again, but simply cook down the pasta by itself, then toss it with fresh ingredients.  A noble experiment, nonetheless.