Hiding Vegetables

Can you tell we eat a lot of pasta in our house?
When my husband and I were first married, I told AC that I was too tired and was just going to make Spaghetti. In my house growing up that was my mom's easy meal - pasta, jarred sauce, and steam some veggies (or a salad). Well AC was so excited that I made spaghetti and just raved about. I never knew that it could have such praise. Silly really. (He is nicknamed the "Carb King.")
Well, I decided to try out this recipe mostly because I was too lazy to make a salad but thought we need a bit more veggies than just the sauce.

I have a confession, I am on vacation so these pictures are straight out of the camera without any editing... so... sorry.

Vegetable Marinara
1 large carrot
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried italian seasoning
pinch sugar
salt and pepper
2-15 oz cans of pettite diced tomatoes
2 cups spinach

Grate your carrot and onion (use the food processor to make it easier). Put in a large frying pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Saute until almost soft, add garlic cloves. Add tomato paste, seasoning, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. When combined and fragrant add tomatoes and spinach. When spinach is wilted add to cooked spaghetti and top with parmessan cheese.

Tips:
If you are trying to hide the veggies for kids, chop the spinach up into smaller pieces (remember it will wilt a little so you don't have to be too tiny).

If you don't have a grater attachment on your food processor or dont' want to take the time, just buy preshredded (use about 1/4 - 1/2 cup).

Add any other veggies you want to hide. Some that might work:
  - broccoli - put through your shredder and add with carrots
  - peas - puree and add with tomatoes (might make a funky color)
  - mushrooms - slice and add with garlic
  - bell pepper - chop small and add with onions
  - olives - add just before serving