Mmmmm, Pasta...the only way my kids (and my husband) will really eat spinach

My husband served a mission for our church in Rome, Italy. After two years there he was in love with the people and the food. Needless to say, when we got married he was a much better cook than I was! Well, after almost thirteen years of practice, I think I can finally make some good pasta sauces. Ones that, hopefully, even an Italian would eat!

I love to make this sauce for my kids because it is so great for you! Real pics are coming when I get my computer back.

Very Veggie Red Sauce

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic

1 14 oz can diced or whole tomatoes (pureed)

1 c. finely shredded carrots

1 c. very finely chopped spinach

1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flake

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

Warm oil in pan on high, add garlic and 1/4 tsp of the salt. Sweat the garlic until soft and then add pureed tomatoes, shredded carrot, the red pepper flakes, and the last half tsp. of salt. Let simmer. After about 10 minutes, blend with an stick blender. (If you don't have a stick blender you could cool slightly and then use your blender or food processor.) A minute or two before your pasta is done add your spinach and continue to simmer. Toss with hot pasta and top with shredded parmesan.

Tips:

~ Don't skimp on the oil. I really mean a half a cup. When red sauces don't taste right it's usually because there isn't enough oil. Besides think of all those healthy fats!

~ You can use iodized salt instead of Kosher if neccesary. Kosher salt is uniodized and coarser ground. You can find it by the regular salt in most grocery stores.We find that we prefer the Kosher salt- tastes less bitter.

~Chop the spinach very fine if you have children. Very, very fine. Many less complaints. I haven't had any complaints about "the green stuff" at all.

~I use my food processor to puree my tomatoes and then grate the carrots. It works great. The carrots make the sauce nice and sweet.

~ Pasta choice is important. When I really want the kids to eat alot I make the Barilla piccolini pasta. Tastes like a high quality white pasta, but is high in fiber. So great. They particularly love the shell shapes. Most of the time we use DeCecco whole wheat pasta. The kids still eat this well, but I have to cut the penne in half for Isaac. Hands down the DeCecco is the best  100% whole wheat pasta I have ever had. We buy it from Amazon. You can also purchase it from Walmart, but it's usually cheaper from Amazon. If you want a pasta that is made from a mixture of whole grains and some refined, Barilla Whole Grain and Barilla Plus both taste great.

~ Do not over cook your pasta! Follow the box directions and cook until "al dente". "Al Dente" means to the teeth in italian.

~ Don't forget to salt your pasta water!
~For our family of 4, I make 6 oz. of pasta. Keep in mind that our children are 5 and 1!

Enjoy!