I’m always on a mission to add more fruits and veggies into our diet. My pasta sauce recipe is full of veggies: Onions, peppers, carrots, zucchini, celery, fresh tomatoes.
And because I love meaty sauce, I can’t forget the 80/20 ground chuck!
The kids aren’t too big on zoodles, but that’s ok. We paired our meal with a green salad (cucumber slices for the kids), and garlic bread (a family favorite).
Veggie Loaded Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs ground chuck or your favorite ground beef (don’t use super lean beef)
- 2 T. olive oil
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1/2 c. each chopped or diced: carrots, celery, bell peppers (I used red)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 6 ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters
- 1 large can (28 ounces) fire-roasted tomatoes
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 can tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 t. Shallot pepper seasoning
- 2 T. Italian Seasoning
- 4 large zucchinis, spiralized, ends diced and reserved for sauce
Directions
- Brown meat in olive oil over low, breaking up meat as it cooks.
- Add onion, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and cook until soft and onions are translucent.
- Add garlic, cook until fragrant.
- Add fresh and canned tomatoes, and tomato paste.
- De-glaze pan with wine, add seasoning, and small pieces of zucchinis leftover from spiralizing.
- Cook on low for 2+ hours, stirring occasionally.
- To cook zucchini spirals, steam for 6-8 minutes, drain and serve right away!
This sauce freezes well too and gets better overnight in the fridge. You can also use this sauce to make lasagna.
If you haven’t heard of Truly Grass Fed, here is some info about what they are and their philosophy, “The Truly Grass Fed way of dairy farming has been passed down through the generations and has continued to evolve and innovate with the times. Our belief in sustainability and in preserving the beautiful land of Ireland is ingrained in our values and informs our way of life. We love what we do and we’re passionate about maintaining our unique way of farming. We truly believe that ensuring our cows live outside for most of the year, providing them with 95% grass to eat and treating them with care and respect makes for superior-tasting cheese and butter. We are proud of the products we produce, and we are excited to share the abundance of our labors with those looking to discover a little piece of Ireland in an exceptional hunk of cheese or generous spread of creamy butter.” You can learn more 
The cheese was soo good! Rich, creamy and sharper than most cheddars. The moms gobbled down the samples (seriously, it’s so good). In San Diego, you can find Truly Grass Fed at Vons stores- It’s in the deli with the fancy cheese!
We snacked and painted, and the kids ran off to play at the playground before it got too hot.
