Eli’s Penne Pasta, Simple Green Salad & Strawberry Slushies
Time: | Servings: 4
Pasta Ingredients:
- 1 splash of olive oil
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- ¼ tsp red chile flakes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 15 oz canned diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 10 oz dried penne pasta
- Salt for water
- Fresh basil
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 large handful of mixed greens
- 1 small head of romaine lettuce chopped
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 handful of shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 splash of olive oil
- Pinch of sea salt and pepper
Slushie Ingredients:
- 1 lb frozen strawberries
- Sprig of fresh mint
- ½ lemon juiced
- Ice cubes
- Splash of water if needed
- Sweetener of choice (optional)
Start Round up all your ingredients plus equipment. Fill pot with water, cover, and set on high to bring to boil. Begin heating a large skillet with a splash of olive oil over medium-high heat. Dice yellow onion, carrot and celery, and add to the skillet as you go. Stir occasionally. As those begin to soften mince the garlic and add to skillet. Once softened, remove veggies from skillet and place in food processor or blender. This step is optional, however, I do recommend when feeding pickier kids for a smooth sauce texture and to meld the flavors together. To the skillet, add the ground Italian sausage to brown and slowly break it up into small pieces as it cooks. While your sausage is browning, add red pepper flakes, oregano and diced tomatoes to the blender. Begin to puree the veggies and slowly add in balsamic vinegar. Once, your mixture is smooth, let it sit while your sausage fully cooks. Add pasta and salt to boiling water and cook according to package instructions for al dente which I find in about 1-2 minutes less than the package.
Salad While your main dish pasta elements are cooking away, add a large handful of mixed greens to your serving bowl. Course chop the head of romaine, adding to the bowl. Top greens with the juice of half a lemon, a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper, and a small handful of shredded Parmesan cheese. Toss together and set aside.
Finishing the Pasta Once sausage is fully cooked, pour the sauce from the blender back into the skillet and combine. Let simmer together for a few minutes while the pasta finishes cooking. Add a little of the pasta water to the skillet if needed to thin the sauce to your desired consistency. Once penne is finished, strain from the pot and add the pasta to the skillet. Stir to combine. Top with fresh basil and serve directly from the skillet.
Slushies Give that blender a quick wash! Add strawberries, mint, juice of remaining half of lemon, ice and splash of water if needed. Choice of sweetener is optional. Blend it all up and serve!
Helpful Tips:
Time saving tips and substitutions:
- If you have an electric water kettle you can bring that water to a boil in mere minutes to add to the pot.
- I prefer brown rice or chickpea pasta for a gluten-free option. Note: chickpea pasta I find cooking half the package time is best for al dente texture.
- Use a hand potato masher to break up ground sausage as it browns.
- Chicken sausage is another fun variation or using cased sausage versus ground sausage.
- Coconut water would be a great addition to the slushies.
- For more flavor, you can brown the meat first and once cooked remove it from the pan to then cook the veggies for the sauce. I find this takes longer and dirties another bowl and no one has time for that. LOL.
This is one of our favorites! Named for my son who devours three helpings each time! It’s flavorful and so easy to throw together. Never underestimate the power of a little mixed green salad. Even my husband who says “you can’t spell salad without sad” (dad jokes!) loves this one and goes back for seconds. It’s light and fresh and takes less than 2 minutes to pull together. The slushies just make dinner fun and make meal time feel special, with the added bonus of adding tons of nutrients! This meal isn’t about being a sneaky cook, far from it as most of the time I have one or both kids helping me. It’s about making meals as nutrient dense as I can while adding fun flavor without tons of salt or sugars.
