Sneaky Pasta Sauce

Most children do not get enough vegetables and fruits into their diets. We all know this. I try to make sure my kiddos get what they need nutritionally, but I admit that I fail a lot of the time. That is one reason I have been trying to find recipes that incorporate a lot of healthy elements yet still taste terrific.  I created this recipe for Sneaky Pasta Sauce by accident last month.  I was trying to make a good spaghetti sauce and came out with this instead. I make a lot of food from scratch, but I have never made marinara sauce. Everyone keeps telling me how easy it is so I thought I’d give it a try.  I started off with Wendy from Around My Family Table’s Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce. With that as my jumping off point, I just started adding vegetables and spices. What I ended up with was a nutritious and sweet sauce that the kiddos gobbled up and raved about.  Check out the recipe below.

Sneaky Pasta Sauce

• 5 lbs of tomatoes
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 cup carrots, shredded
• 1 cup zucchini, shredded
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 4 oz mushrooms,  halved
• 1 tbs fresh parsley
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1tsp dried oregano
• 1stp dried basil
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1.5 tsp salt
• Dash of pepper

Directions

• Wash and core tomatoes.
• Combine all the ingredients through the garlic in large pot.
• Slowly bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Let it gently boil for one minute and then reduce heat to low.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes or until it thickens, whichever comes first.
• Remove the pot from heat. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, use an immersion blender to puree it. If you do not have an immersion blender you can use a traditional blender to puree the sauce a little at a time.
• Serve over your children’s favorite pasta.
• Be sure to divide up and freeze your leftovers for future yumminess.

How do you get more fruits and vegetables into your family’s diet?  Feel free to leave a comment. Share and let’s talk about it.