Veggie Packed Spaghetti

While Natalie was still pretty little, I realized that I’d quickly have to find a way to sneak veggies in to her food. Picky doesn’t even cover it – if it’s not white, she’s not interested. In fact, she’d probably just live on vanilla ice cream and rice if we let her.

There are two meals that no one in the house will turn down: a) anything mexican and b) spaghetti with cauliflower breadsticks. Luckily, both of these are super easy to sneak veggies in to. I usually just shred the veggies on the smallest setting, cook them until they’re super soft and then smooth them out with a hand blender. Thrown in to taco meat, you’d never know they were there. Same with the spaghetti sauce! As for the cauliflower breadsticks, I think they’re delicious but I would never have guessed that anyone else would like them. The girls eat these like they’re trying to run away and even the ol’ husband likes them!

This is my own recipe, just what I’ve put together through trial and air throughout the years. These are approximate amounts, adjust everything to taste. We like it garlicky, so I tend to go heavy on the garlic. However, I’m not much of spice person so I go light on the red pepper chili flakes.

1 carrot, shredded

1 red onion, diced

1 zucchini, shredded

4 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced

1 Tbsp dried Oregano

1 Tbs dried chevril (italian parsley)

1/4 cup of red wine (stuff you’d drink, so nothing gross)

1 tsp of red pepper chili flakes

2/28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes

Saute the veggies together in a dutch oven (I use my trusty crusty Le Creuset) until they’re soft, then add everything else. Slow cook at 200 degrees for 4-6 hours. Put on stove top and use a hand blender to smooth out the veggies and tomatoes. Add cooked meat (I use frozen turkey meatballs) and boil down until most of the liquid is gone. Serve with Cauliflower breadsticks (recipe below) and a side salad for veggie overload.

Adapted from Mama Grubbs (http://mamagrubbsgrub.blogspot.com/2011/11/cauliflower-breadsticks.html)