Hello Sweet Friends,
Making dinner these days had been hit or miss. I’m lucky I have a chance to eat, let a lone be able to make the food I was making and blogging on before I had my sweet baby girl.
Now that little miss is 5 months old and I’m learning her patterns just long enough before they change again I am finding small windows of time to plan what I want to make and execute my dinner plan…for the most part!
I love anything and everything with fruits and vegetables and with the amazing fresh produce summer has to offer I am slicing and dicing my way into making new healthy and easy recipes. I am planning on sharing as many as I can with you all.
My ‘Sautéed Zucchini and Mushroom in Tomato Sauce over Red Lentil Pasta’ happened when I wasn’t even planning on it, but rather it happened out of necessity as I was cleaning out my refrigerator and needed to use up vegetables and a jar of tomato sauce before they all went bad. Honestly, it’s in my opinion these ‘throw together’ type of recipes that tend to be fan favorites.
You can add as many fresh ingredients as you like which is a recipe and a dinner I absolutely love. Healthy. Convenient. & Delicious. Yes, PLEASE! I made this version without meat but I can easily add ground beef to make a meat sauce with vegetables, or add grilled chicken or shrimp and make it a bit hardier.
In a large pan, I added my diced garlic and onion, on low heat, I added a bit of vegetable broth to prevent any burning. As this was sautéing I sliced my pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms. Once the onion and garlic were fairly translucent I added in my peppers and allowed them to cook down for a few minutes before adding my zucchini, and finally mushrooms. While the vegetables were cooking I did add a bit more vegetable broth. You can also add olive oil or simply add a splash of water just as long as you add enough liquid to prevent any burning.
Once the vegetables appeared to look partially cooked I added in the tomato sauce and turned the heat down to low.
In a separate pot, I brought my water to a boil and added my favorite pasta and cooked. Since this is about convenience I used Rao’s tomato sauce because it tastes like it’s literally made from scratch. This sauce tastes like my grandmother’s homemade sauce without taking hours to make. I very rarely if ever taste something that tastes like it’s homemade and this goes for any type of food, sauce, dip you name it. But this sauce, this sauce is-the-real-deal. Often times I do make my own homemade sauce but I didn’t have hours of time to make it and let it simmer. And now with a little babe, who has 3-4 extra hours to spare? Time is limited and when a company like Rao’s sauce tastes this good…I mean why not? Right? In my recipe, I used red lentil pasta but any pasta will do and really it comes down to your personal preference.
I added the pasta to the vegetables and tomato sauce but normally, I just pour the sauce over my pasta. For your final touch you can add any additional herbs like parsley, basil, and oregano and dinner is served!! I hope you enjoy this quick and easy dinner. =)
Enjoy!
XOXO,
Megan
Ingredients:
- 1-2 zucchini
- 1 container of mushrooms
- 1 pepper (orange or yellow)
- ½ cup vegetable broth
- 1-1/2 cup tomato sauce (Rao’s)
- 1 box pasta of choice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Oregano, Parsley, Basil to taste fresh or dried
Directions:
- In a large pan add a ¼ cup of vegetable broth and diced onions and garlic and cook until translucent
- Add diced pepper and cook until tender
- Add sliced zucchini and mushrooms and cook until slightly cooked making sure not to overcook.
- Add your sauce and combine until all the vegetables are coated
- In a sperate pot boil water to cook pasta
- Either combine pasta in the large pan with the vegetables and Sauce or add the sauce on the cooked pasta
LEMONBERRY & FIG 