Want to make a house staple without it being a boring jar of sauce and some noodles? It can be hard to get veggies into the diet sometimes (or often! no judging here), sneaking them into everyday recipes is a fantastic way to both consume more veggies, but also elevate the flavor of every dish!
LOTS of veggies are snuck into here and the kids love it! It’s one of the few dishes they will eat their whole serving of and ask for more! It’s easy to add even more veggies too. We’ve done green beans, bell peppers and zucchini to name a few. Don’t be afraid to measure spices with your heart and change up the recipe!
Ingredients
- – 1 whole yellow onion finely chopped
- – Minced garlic (we measure this with our heart y’all)
- – 1lb lean ground beef or turkey
- – 1lb ground sausage (unseasoned)
- – 1lb of pasta (any kind you like! My kids prefer the thin kind)
- – 2 Tbsp of Italian seasoning
- – 1 tsp of ground ginger
- – 1 tsp of ground tumeric
- – 1 tsp ground white pepper
- – Salt to taste
- – 3-4 Tbsp Avocado oil
- – 2c diced tomatoes
- – 3 jars of pasta sauce (we prefer the chunky garden combo from Prego but hope to make our own soon!)
- – 3-4 bay leaves
Instructions
Step 1-
Heat oil, onion, and garlic in a large and deep pan with low-medium heat for about 5 minutes or until fragrant and the onion starts to change color.
Step 2-
While step one is cooking,heat a VERY large pot of water to a boil and salt generously.
*Mom tip: break your long pasta BEFORE it goes into the pot so you don’t have to worry about cutting it for your little ones!* (I usually break mine in 4 parts)
Step 3-
Add both meats into the pan with the onion and garlic. Mix and chop this until it’s very broken up. Add Italian seasoning, white pepper, ginger, turmeric, and salt. Keep mixing and chopping up the meat as it cooks. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until completely brown and there is absolutely no more pink. (I even let mine get a bit crispy)
Step 4-
Cook the noodles according to your pasta choice. Once cooked, strain. Add your sauces and tomatoes to the pot used for the noodles and bring to a simmer while adding the noodles back in. Allow this to simmer for at least 5-10 minutes before adding the meat in.
Step 5-
Strain your meat and add it to your pot of noodles and sauce. We prefer the sauce listed above because it includes carrots, bell peppers, and zucchini. You can add these veggies on your own if your sauce doesn’t have it included and just cook them in the pan with the onion and garlic before adding your meat.
Step 6-
Mix very well and add your bay leaves. Fully submerge the leaves. Allow to simmer (covered) for 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally.
Step 7-
Serve and garnish with grated Parmesan and parsley! (Cheese and parsley optional of course)
