Meatless March: Veggie Spaghetti Recipe

For dinner tonight, I decided to create a meatless spaghetti. Italian food is one of my favorite cuisines and I happened to be craving spaghetti, so I utilized what I had in the kitchen to satisfy my appetite. I want to apologize in advance because I am an outside the box thinker and I have the most difficult time giving proper cooking measurements. I cook for my taste buds and I encourage you to do the same, especially if you know what you like. So here goes... wish me luck!

Meatless Spaghetti Sauce Recipe:
- Chop all of the following: whole mushrooms, spinach, carrots, zucchini, 1/2 red onion, 1/2 bell pepper, & parsley
- 1 can organic diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato paste & your favorite tomato sauce (if you do not make it from scratch)
- 4 minced garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons of fresh basil pesto & 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- Seasonings: garlic salt, savory, celery salt, oregano, basil, & 1 bay leaf

Directions: In a pot, add olive oil and minced garlic over low heat. Add basil pesto, seasonings and all of your chopped ingredients, excluding spinach. Saute for 4 minutes. In the same pot, add your diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste & stir until all chopped vegetables are fully coated. Then add your spinach, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add additional seasonings if need be.

Pasta:
In a separate pot add water to cover the amount of pasta you will be using. Add a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of the same Italian seasonings as above. Let the water boil and add your spaghetti noodles. Boil until cooked.

That wasn't so painful! If you have any questions, please shoot me an email (jennifer@food-mood.org).

Enjoy!