Cooking With Your Kids

I really love discovering new Italian dishes that use tomatoes in ways that I’ve never use them before. A few weeks ago, I discovered a chicken penne arrabiata recipe, but I was out of chicken and didn’t have any red pepper flakes on hand. So I changed the recipe to be a vegetarian one and added a few additional vegetables—like onions—to give the pasta a little more bite. It turned out very delicious, and I’ll be making it again.

If you want to add some meat to it, add turkey sausage, cut up into bite-sized pieces. Add it alongside the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.

I recommend using organic cans of tomatoes from your local grocery. This recipe serves about four. It’s perfect for a quiet night at home. It’s also one that your kids can become heavily involved in. Let them chop, pour in the tomato cans, and stir.

Vegetarian Penne Arrabiata

Ingredients

1/2 package penne pasta
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 bulb garlic, peeled and sliced thinly lengthwise
2 medium sweet onions, chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 (16 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (with roasted garlic)
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon dried basil
Salt, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the desired amount of pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Drain and set aside.

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and onions. Sauté until they are fragrant and cooked. Add the ground black pepper and garlic powder and sauté for another minute or two. Add the cans of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and dried basil to the skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure the bottom of the pan does not burn.

Add the cooked penne pasta. Simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes before taking off heat. Add desired amount of salt, according to your taste.

Serve and top with desired amount of parmesan cheese on top.

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