The following is a guest post written by my wife, The Cavewife. She regularly writes here about what’s on her heart as a frugal stay-at-home mom.
One of the things I like to do in my spare time is to read parenting magazines. I love the different articles in the magazine, but the one thing that I love the most is checking out the family-friendly recipes. I’m always up for trying new recipes, especially for a picky toddler and husband who has a hard time eating vegetables. [Ed. note: It's not that I have a hard time, I just don't like them. :) ]
The latest recipe that I came across was for “Pasta bolognese,” which I found in the March 2008 issue of Parenting magazine. It is a simple family-friendly dish that even your older kids can help with. This recipe makes 4 servings and takes about 30 minutes to prepare.
Pasta Bolognese
Ingredients:
- 1 TBS Olive Oil
- 2 Carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 LB Lean Ground Turkey or Beef
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 12-oz bag wide noodles, such as pappardelle, or fettuccine
Directions:
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add ground meat to skillet.
- Cook (stirring and breaking up meat) until the meat is brown and cooked through, about 7 or 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
- While the sauce simmers, prepare the pasta as directed on the package. Serve it topped with sauce.
Cost of Ingredients:
| 1 lb Ground Chuck | $ 1.98 |
| 28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes | 0.88 |
| 2 Carrots | 0.10 |
| 12 oz pkg of Fettucine | 0.80 |
| Total Cost | $ 3.76 |
This recipe is easy to make and the great thing is you can sneak in vegetables and your kids won’t even notice the difference. It is similar to spaghetti. I have made this recipe twice and my daughter loved it, the first time I made it. The second time I made this recipe, I added chopped mushrooms (leftover in the fridge), diced fresh tomatoes (from my garden), basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. After spooning out the servings for my family, my husband and I added some Parmesan cheese, garlic, and crushed red pepper to our servings for a little kick.
As always I’m interested in hearing from you about what recipes that you have tried for your family. Feel free to leave me a comment sharing a recipe that you think my family would like.
Happy Cooking!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I was also a (frugal) stay at home mom, for 25 yrs, although, I did not have the vegetable problem that you seem to have. Here is a recipe that I have yet to find a kid that doesn’t like it.
I make it by heart so I don’t have the exact ingredients…but here goes…
You will need:
Hamburger
Onion
Celery
Beef bouillon
2 Cans Cream corn
1 Can corn, drained, liquid reserved
Bisquick, or other biscuit mix
Garlic powder
Margarine or butter
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Brown 1 pound of hamburger (amt. of meat can be increased. I usually used 2 lbs)
Add and cook a few minutes:
An amt of onions …to your liking …maybe ½ cup, chopped (I always used more)
An amt of celery…to your liking…maybe 1/3 cup, chopped (I always used more)
Add:
Beef bouillon…1 cube or 1 tsp
1 and ½ can of cream corn
½ of the can drained corn (reserve liquid for later use)
Heat until hot
Put into a casserole dish large enough to hold beef mixture and be topped with Bisquick mixture. Allow room for expansion of dough and bubbling of meat mixture.
Bisquick mixture:
2 -3 cups of bisquick, mixed with:
½ can of cream corn
½ can of drained corn
At this time if the mixture is too dry you can add small amounts of the liquid drained from the corn. Dough mixture should be rather thick.
Plop large tablespoons full of the dough mixture on hot beef mixture, plops can be joined to make somewhat of a solid top, but leave some spaces, to ensure that the biscuit dough gets cooked through and is not doughy when you bring it to the table.
Melt margarine/butter…about 2 tablespoons. Add:
Garlic powder, amt to your liking, (about ½ – 1 tsp)
¼ teaspoon of salt, amt approximate
1/8 tsp of pepper, amt approximate
1-2 tsp parmesan cheese, amt approximate
Drizzle over dough
Bake 350 degrees 45 minutes to 1 hr, (maybe longer), or until dough/biscuit topping is done, showing some brown tips and edges, making sure that dough is done in the middle.
I usually serve with a salad, or a mixture of sliced or chopped cucumbers, sliced or chopped tomatoes, and sweet onion, drizzled with Italian dressing, but I’m thinking that might not work in your case. Perhaps some cold fruit…honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon, cold canned peaches or applesauce. I also would put a jar of jalapenos, Italian pepperoncini peppers, or some kind of pickled hot mix on the table, for the adults, until the kids started liking them! Enjoy!