Noodles with meat sauce

Another staple in my house: noodles with meat sauce. I used to make meatballs with pasta for my kids, but I found myself just chopping up the meatballs into tiny, bite-sized pieces for their tiny little mouths anyway, so to save myself the hassle, noodles with meat sauce was born. It’s very simple to make, and so much easier for my littles to eat, with the ground meat all mixed through, coating every luscious noodle. What child wouldn’t love that! I serve my husband’s with grated Parmesan on top, because strangely enough my oldest son prefers his noodles without the dusting of cheese on top. He loves cheese in any other form, but go figure, kids can be picky and that’s totally okay! I also include a veggie side dish with our hearty pasta meal, anything from steamed broccoli to green beans, to zucchini or even spinach or kale. Whatever your family enjoys most, stick with those favorites! Sometimes, we even mix the veggie into the noodles for a one-bowl meal.

We always use a gluten free pasta, mostly organic brown rice pasta. I love Jovial brand because it cooks up nicely and does not tend to get mushy like most other brown rice pastas, if cooked properly. My kids also love the Whole Foods gluten free brown rice farm animal-shaped noodles, they are so fun to eat! I always have organic jarred tomato sauce on hand as well or even organic crushed canned tomatoes, so we use that for our sauce either or a combination of both. The Whole Foods 365 organic Marinara or Tomato Basil sauce are great inexpensive choices, as well as Paesana Organic Tomato Basil sauce and the Kirkland Signature Organic Marinara sauce (if it’s restocked at Costco). All of these sauces have no added sugar, no citric acid, and no sunflower or canola oil (the Paesana sauce has extra virgin olive oil). As far as organic canned crushed tomatoes, any organic store brand is fine (however, all of the canned tomatoes I’ve come across have added citric acid, so I am still on the hunt for a brand without!). I add my own touch to the sauce by adding extra garlic and onion, garlic powder, onion powder, a touch of salt, and oregano. And because the noodles soak up the sauce, I rinse out the jars or cans with a bit of water and pour that flavorful tomato water into the sauce for extra liquid.

Noodles with meat sauce

2 12oz. boxes of Jovial pasta, any shape (farfalle, penne, rotini, etc.)
2 jars organic marinara sauce or two large 28oz. cans organic crushed tomatoes, or one of each
2 lbs. organic grass-fed ground beef
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
salt, to taste

Cook the pasta in a large pot until al dente. You want to make sure to undercook the pasta slightly because it will continue to cook in and soak up the tomato sauce. Drain the pasta and set aside. Next, sautee the onions and garlic. I do this in a dry pan on medium heat. Add salt to sweat the alliums. Once browned a bit, add the ground beef. Break up with a wooden spoon and continue to stir and sautee. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Allow the meat to brown and caramelize, stirring frequently and breaking up the meat. Once the meat is browned and thoroughly broken up, add in the tomato sauce or tomatoes. Rinse each can or jar with a bit of water and pour that water into the pot to loosen the sauce. Stir until well combined. Allow the sauce to simmer for at least one hour. About 30 minutes prior to serving, add the cooked noodles and stir, allowing the pasta to soak up the sauce. Serve with grated Parmesan on top and a green veggie on the side.