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

Whole Wheat Penne with Swiss Chard

I recieved some swiss chard from our produce co-op. I was really excited to try it out. I have never had anything with swiss chard before. I made up this recipe hoping that it was like other dark leafy greens. I was pleasantly surprised at the end result (hope you like the surprise ingredient). I was especially surprised at my husband's response. He hates cooked spinach but loved this pasta. Plus, I felt so healthy eating it - hardly any fat in the recipe, dark leafy greens, whole wheat penne - can't get much better than that!

Whole Wheat Penne with Swiss Chard

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bundle or 3-4 large leaves of swiss chard
1/4 c cranberry juice (this is the unexpected ingredient)
2 cans diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
1 lb whole wheat penne
1/2 c fresh Parmesan

Saute onions in a large pan with some cooking spray (if you don't want to do this, just use a teaspoon to a tablespoon of olive oil - I was trying to be on the light side). Meanwhile, boil you penne (or other pasta of your choice). Once onions are translucent, add the garlic. Saute until fragrant. Meanwhile, remove swiss chard greens from the stems and run through your beloved salad spinner. Add chard to your pan with the cranberry juice and season with salt and pepper. When chard starts to wilt, add the tomatoes.  Toss in cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.

Tips:
- cook your pasta in really salty water (I hear it should taste like the ocean). If you try and salt it after it tastes like salt on pasta rather than flavorful pasta.
- When seasoning the chard, use a little less than you think. The Parmesan can be a little salty - taste and season after adding the cheese.

Simple Lasagna

Many of you may have seen this sneaky trick before. But, I loved it so much when I found it, I had to share it. This is a very simple fast lasagna. Perfect for a crazy busy day!

This is more a technique than a recipe, so the format may be different.

Simple Lasagna 

Frozen Cheese Ravioli (I like square, fits in pan better)
Your Favorite Pasta Sauce
Frozen chopped Spinach, thawed and drained
Shredded Mozzerella and/or Parmessan, for topping

Choose your pan size - if there is only two of you, use a loaf pan, if you are feeding a crowd, use a 9x13. I wanted leftovers, so I used a 9x9.  Spread enough pasta sauce to cover the bottom of your pan. Layer the frozen ravioli on top of the sauce. Layer spinach as thick as you want. Add more sauce. You can add more cheese here if you need it extra cheesy. Add next layer of ravioli. Repeat layers until your out of ravioli or until pan is full. Top with sauce and grated cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. If you like your cheese a little brown, remove foil for last 5-10 minutes.

Aren't you glad you know this trick now?