FOODIE FRIDAY#9 - 🍝 Veggie-filled Meaty Spaghetti 🍅

It's Friday!

It has been a busy one, and it's quickly approaching bedtime, but I haven't posted a new Foodie Friday post in far too long (sorry guys). I really want to make this a regularly scheduled, weekly post, so let's get back on track!

Spaghetti has been a dinnertime staple, ever since I was a small child. It's one of those classics that every family seems to have on a fairly regular basis, and every family has their own unique spin on. I've probably made at least 100 different versions... in fact, I'd be hard-pressed to think of any more than 2 times when I've made it the same. It's just so easy to play around with! I mean, even if you go crazy and mess with every single part of the recipe, it's still going to taste good! Don't have/can't eat ground beef? Use ground turkey! Hell, use tofu if you want! Don't have a can of tomato sauce? Use fresh tomatoes, or a can of diced tomatoes! Of course, sometimes things turn out better than others... but if your main concern is getting sustenance into your family, I've yet to meet a kid who wouldn't eat a plateful of spaghetti, even the mediocre stuff. So, worry not!

All that said, THIS is not mediocre. This stuff is really damn tasty. And if you're trying to cram more veggies nutrition into your husband kids, this is the perfect opportunity to do that. Dice them up nice and small, and they just become part of the thick, chunky, flavorful sauce.

(Unless your kids are the ones sitting at the table, picking every fleck of green out of their food, whether it be broccoli or basil... I don't have any advice for that, except maybe a blindfold. 😜)

Alright, are you ready to see how I made this nutrient-packed delicousness? Let's take a peek!

Standard disclaimer: my food blog posts are IMAGE HEAVY!

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The very first thing we need to do is brown the meat. I love using my cast iron dutch oven for this. It conducts the heat so beautifully, I always get a great sear on things. So, just a little splash of olive oil in the bottom, and dump in the meat. I like to break it up with a fork (if you're using an enamel-coated vessel like I am, be careful so you don't scratch it) and then let it sit for a few min, before giving it a stir. The less you disturb it the better; that's how we get the nice brown crust.

While that's working, dice up your onions and carrots. You don't want to leave them too chunky, or you'll lose the consistency in the sauce.

See, this is the crusty stuff I was talking about. Nicely browned!

Then, remove the meat, and toss in your diced up onions and carrots, and while they are softening, try to use their juices to get the little brown bits off the bottom of the pot. (You can see I switched to a plastic spoon, so I didn't risk scraping the enamel.)

Now that the onions are translucent, starting to caramelize, and the carrots are softened, it's time to add in some diced tomato. (You'll want to dice those while the onions are working their magic.)

Let them stew a bit, and reduce down, then add in your herbs and seasonings - celery seed, oregano, basil, italian seasoning, bay leaves, salt and pepper. (I like to add them during this initial sauteing step, to help to draw out their flavor. If you forget, and add them later, once you've already added the sauce, it'll still be tasty, but you may want to leave it to simmer for a while, to get the same impact.)

Give that a stir and let it go for a few minutes, to draw out the flavor, and get to work dicing up the other veg, in this case cauliflower and broccoli.

Dump in the cauliflower, and return the meat back into the pot, give it a stir, and let the flavors meld for a minute or two.

Once the cauliflower has gotten a bit of color, it's time to add in that can of tomato sauce. Of course, you can leave this out, or substitute for additional tomatoes, but I love the depth of tomato-y flavor you get from a pre-made sauce. (If you're not a fan of the veritable shit-ton of sodium typically found in canned foods, I don't blame you! I keep my eyes peeled and opt for the "no salt added" labels.) Oh, and don't forget a butt-load of minced garlic. 😁

One last trick for amazing flavor, before letting it sit and stew for a while: toss in that little nubbin of parmesan rind. You know, the stuff on the end of the block of parmesan that you bought a while ago, that's too hard to grate, but seems wasteful to just throw it out? Guess what, it's now got a purpose, other than taking up real estate in your fridge! (Come on, it can't be just me who does this.)

And now it needs to sit and simmer. It doesn't need a full day, by any means, and really, 15 min will do it... but if you can spare an hour, it'll be so worth letting it work its magic. Totally up to you!

When you're getting hungry, start some pasta on the boil. (Yes, I often make my own pasta. Yes, I'll make a post with that soon. But for today, after all the work we've put into our sauce, it's ok to just grab a package of the dried stuff. 😉) When the water is boiling, and you've added the pasta, you've got roughly 10 min before dinner is ready.

What's spaghetti without garlic toast?! Now is the time to get that working. I like to pre-toast in the toaster, then spread on some melted garlic butter.

By now the pasta should be about half-way done, and it's time to add in the broccoli! (You didn't think I forgot, did you?) You don't want to add it too soon... no one likes over-cooked, mushy, brown-ish broccoli. It really only needs a couple minutes to soften, so add it during the last 5 min, to keep it bright and flavorful.

If you're feeling extravagant, go back to that toast and sprinkle on some grated cheese, and pop those bad boys under the broiler! YUM!

Alright, looks like we're good to go!

After straining the pasta, pour it back into the pot, and I like to stir in a spoonful or 2 of the sauce. It does doubly duty: to make sure it all has some flavor, and also so that the noodles stay separated, and don't clump together. (PLEASE don't add oil to your boiling water - all that's going to do is prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta.)

Put a pile of pasta on your plate, top with a generous scoop of sauce, and grate over some fresh parmesan. (I also love a generous dusting of fresh ground black pepper, and a sprinkle of chili flakes.) Grab a piece of that cheesy garlic toast, and you've got DINNER!

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What's a staple dinner in your house?

Is there anything you've been eating since you were a kid, and continue to make today?

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I've got a busy but exciting weekend coming up... I'll be having a long overdue visit with my bestie! Perhaps I'll be able to document enough to make a post or 2 about it. 😊

Have a lovely weekend, dearies!