spaghetti with whole wheat pasta

Have you tried whole wheat pasta? It is delish!

*I make this sauce to taste so the measurements are just approximations. Taste it as you go and add more of whatever it needs!

Spaghetti Sauce:
lots of good olive oil
1 med. onion
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots
1 stalk celery and or 1 green pepper (or go without)
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon sugar
1 can crushed/puree tomatoes
ground beef
Salt & Pepper

Pasta:
Whole Wheat Penne noodles
boiling water
salt

Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to heated pan. Chop and add onion. Add minced garlic, salt and pepper. Let it sweat together for a couple minutes over medium heat. Chop and add carrots/green pepper/ (and or) celery. Add more olive oil. Stir and Cook until the veggies are soft and turn golden brown (10-20 minutes).  Next add tomatoes, italian seasoning, sugar and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile cook beef in separate pan. Add cooked beef to the sauce mixture.

Cook pasta according to directions and combine with sauce.  Top with parmesan and more olive oil (if you wish) and eat!

Burrito Pie (adapted from familyfun.com recipe)

This recipe calls for a springform pan, but if you don't have one, any old pan will do and you could serve it more like a casserole then cut like a pie. Here is what you will need:

-1 medium chopped onion (for the ground beef if you would like)
-2 cloves garlic
-1 lb ground beef
-1 packet taco seasoning
-3/4 cup water
-1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernals
-4 10 inch flour tortillas
-1 cup salsa
-8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (can also use monterey jack)
-sour cream

First, brown ground beef with the onion and garlic until no longer pink.

Next, add water and taco seasoning.

Then add the corn and black beans, and bring the mixture to a boil. Allow it to continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates. Once the liquid is gone, remove from heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Now you can start to make the layers for the pie. Start by buttering the spring form pan (or use cooking spray). Place a flour tortilla at the bottom of the pan.

Now spread 1/4 of the salsa on the tortilla.

Next, add 1/4 of the beef mixture.

And then 1/4 of the grated cheese.

Keep stacking until all ingredients are used up. It will look like this when you are finished stacking.

Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, or until heated through. Then let it cool for about ten minutes.

After it has cooled slightly, you can take off the rim of the springform pan and behold your beautiful burrito pie! Serve with the sour cream*.

I hope you like it:)

*you could also add sour cream to each of the layers--tortilla, sour cream, salsa, beef mixture, cheese, etc and bake it.

Taco Soup

This recipe is one of my favorites--I make it a couple of times a month, and I always make a big batch so I can freeze some for later! I have found many recipes online for taco soup, so I have taken bits and pieces from those recipes and put my own together. Here is how we like it:

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, 1 can kidney beans, 1 can black beans, 1 can corn, 1 package taco seasoning,
2 16 oz can tomato sauce , 1 can diced tomatoes, 1-1 1/2 cups water (depending upon how thick you like it)

Optional Ingredients:
shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips

First, brown the ground beef (I like to add onions to my ground beef, but it is not necessary). Place the cooked beef in a large pot. Add all cans, water, and taco seasoning. Simmer until heated through, or until ready to serve. We like to eat it with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream on top. Also, Kevin likes to crush tortilla chips in the soup, and I like to use the chips as a scoop and eat it like dip. Jacob likes it sans chips. Any way, it is a great soup on a cold winter day!