Rich and Healthy Recession Spaghetti

In this article I am going to talk about how you can make spaghetti more appealing and nutritious. I am including my recipe for the ultimate Spaghetti Bolognese.
Yes it is true, I discovered how much kids love pasta one night when I was eating dinner early with them and instead of wanting to eat his own he ate more than half of mine! He loved it! I had made so much that there was enough left for the next night and he ate even more of that. The great thing about this dish is that its flavour seems to mature the longer you leave it and I'm not talking weeks, but a good simmer at the cooking stage, cool and refrigerate and then re-heat thoroughly the next day is probably nicer than the first time around.

 

Organic minced beef
Organic minced
Cubed pancetta or tiny strips of bacon
Tinned or fresh tomatoes or passatta
Wine
Organic or homemade beef stock or water
Organic single or double cream
Lots of parmesan

 

Your choice of pasta but actually contrary to popular belief bolognaise actually goes better with short or curly pasta as it sticks to the pasta more easily allowing more equal mouthfuls and more easy eating. If you love the spaghetti then stick with it and if you don't mind the mess it can be quite a lot of fun eating and teaching kids to eat spaghetti and added dinner table entertainment element.

 

Garlic
Onions
Seasoning
The wonderful thing for me about this meal is that you can let it simmer gently for hours, cool and re-heat thoroughly the next day, and freeze for last minute suppers later in the month.

 

It is a very rich meal and so depending on your palate you will not need much sauce to pasta. It's a great way to get the kids to eat some good quality organic meat, and of course you can mince your own if you are that way inclined!

 

How many kids do we know that absolutely love pasta and the poor parents are just whizzing up sauce after sauce every night to go with it. The great thing about the sauces is that you can add anything you like to them really, and really have a go at the 'hidden' veggie train of thought scenario.

 

Try:
• Tomatoes, red pepper and spring onion
• Cream, mushrooms and leeks
• Courgette, aubergine and tomato
• tomato, turkey and carrot
• Butternut squash, carrot and coconut milk
• Cabbage, bacon and mozzarella
• Beef broccoli and cream
• Tomato, anchovy and a touch of cream
• Tomato, celery and mage tout or sugar snap peas
• Pea and ham

The list is endless and they can certainly have some fun thinking up new combinations and whizzing them up with you

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Find more recipes at 123recipes.net

Parenting Tips
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Cooking When It’s Hot

When it's hot who feels like cooking a heavy meal? Not me. Why heat up the kitchen. It is time to make lighter meals for you and the kids because the heat reduces the appetitive anyway.

In the summer I just go for the fresh fruits and vegetables. You can make all kinds of different simple and delicious dishes with them. Most need very little preparation to make them absolutely delicious.

You can also use spices to add some pep to a meal that might seem too plain (as is often the case with dishes that consist of just cut up vegetables.) Use spices to add pep to a meal instead of drowning everything in a heavy sauce. There is also no need to cook anything. I like grating vegetables in the summer to make them more palatable.

You can also experiment with lettuces. They can be used as a base for a dish as in making a bed of lettuce or as part of the salad. You should also not use too much dressing as it can be really fattening for both you and the kids. I like to make my own oil and vinegar dressings for a salad. These dressings give a light taste that adds a spicy taste to the dressing for different flavors.

Lettuce of all kinds is a good platform to start building a meal on. You can add potatoes, macaroni, chicken, shrimp, turkey and other things to lettuce. I sometimes just pour hamburger made with taco mix and grated cheese over a bed of lettuce. You can make a complete meal like this in a matter of minutes and you won't bore your kids taste buds (or your own!). Also these types of meals can be very nutritious as well.

To save time I sometimes buy precooked meat or that chicken that is part soy in the store and just dump it in the salad.

One of the most nutritious meals you can make is a macaroni salad. My kids love it with peas, cheese and tuna. They love this mix of foods whether they are cold or hot. Sometimes I add chopped up boiled eggs or a few chopped up raw tomatoes to this mix as well.

Another macaroni recipe I like is eggs, onions, tuna, relish, mayonnaise and cup of mustard. This makes a cool spicy macaroni salad dish. Of course you could add a little yellow or red curry powder to this to spice it up.

Of course if it is really hot I make sure there is a lots of cool fruit on hand for dessert. My kids love frozen fruit chunks, especially grapes. Frozen bananas with chocolate drizzled all over them are also a nice idea.

Don't bother slaving over the oven in the summer. Instead save energy, air conditioning bills and keep your kitchen cool.

Parenting Tips
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