Who doesn't love pasta?
Spaghetti is an easy and delicious meal that the whole family usually loves. There's something about noodles that gets my kids thinking 'this is a fun, messy meal' and they love to suck up the noodles like Lady and the Tramp. Whatever they do, I'm just happy they're eating something that can be healthy and tasty. With just some small steps, your spaghetti meal can become more nutritious.
Start by using lean ground beef for the sauce or you can also try shredded beef, ground turkey, or sausage. Make sure when cooking the meat that you drain the fat off of your meat after it has been browned in the skillet. Add as many fresh veggies as you want to the sauce like tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and celery. They'll give your sauce a whole new dimension, as well as be a way to get those veggies into your kids.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey, lean
- 1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes, cut up
- 1 cup green peppers, finely chopped
- 1 cup celery, shredded
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lb spaghetti
First, brown the meat until most of the pink is gone and add the chopped garlic and onion and cook on low heat. Make sure you drain the fat, then add your can of stewed tomatoes and 2 cups of water. Bring this to a simmer.
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This is your chance to add the vegetables. For this recipe, I add the green peppers, onion, and celery. Add the spices and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes with the cover on. Make sure you stir the mixture occasionally. Remove the cover and cook an additional 15 more minutes. For creamier sauce, give the sauce a whirl in the blender or food processor.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles in unsalted water. Fill a 2 quart saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and stir for a minute to make sure they don’t stick together. Immediately cover and remove from the heat and let sit for 20 minutes. Drain the noodles and add the pasta right into the sauce.
Serve your spaghetti with a salad, rolls and a bottle of wine for Mom and Dad.