This is a fairly basic recipe. It’s pasta with a store bought sauce, fortified with some veggies. I started making it when we bought sauce online (365 Organic brand). It had a lot of spices, but not enough flavor for my taste.
This is weekly staple in our house. At the bottom of the recipe, I’ve added some alternate ingredients and flavors.
Ingredients
2-3 baby carrots
2 large broccoli florets, cauliflower florets
2 tablespoons of frozen spinach
1/4 medium tomato (or 2 tablespoons of the canned diced tomato)
A pinch of salt (to taste)
A pinch of pepper (to taste)
Quarter of a jar of store-bought pasta sauce (more if desired)
Vegetable broth
Directions
1. Add all the veggies to a steamer/rice cooker/Instant Pot with a little water, salt, and pepper. Steam on high for 10 minutes.
2. Once the veggies are done steaming (they should be soft when poked with a fork), put it into a blender and blend until pureed. You may add some water or vegetable broth to help with blending.
3. Pour the pasta sauce into a small saucepan. Add a little of the vegetable broth and let boil.
4. Add the veggie puree into the saucepan. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Modifications
- I used a Roasted Garlic pasta sauce, so I didn’t add garlic. When I use another flavor of sauce, I have roasted some garlic and added it to the mix.
- You can add a little cheese to the sauce. A friend’s mom used to add 1-2 slices of Kraft American cheese any pasta sauce. When making this for my kids, I often add 2 tablespoons of milk (to make it a bit creamier).
- In the past, I have dry sauteed a few tbsp of almond flour, just until it got hot, and added it to the sauce (for texture). It turns out well.
- Another variation I’ve done a few times is adding a little garam masala to the sauce. It gives it an Indian food feel.
Enjoy!