Vegetarian Pasta

As my parents go through the journey of my dad dealing with cancer, they are trying to cut out more animal protein. It isn't easy to go from eating a lot of meat and dairy to finding healthy vegetarian recipes that actually taste good, so I am starting to send them some of the recipes I modify on the job for Joshua and I. I thought I'd share tonights, mostly because it literally took 15 minutes to make, has lots of veggies, and is yummy.

I call it "Dinner":

Any pasta you want (I used whole wheat Rigatoni--whole wheat has more fiber, but I'm not sure there are many other advantages in pasta form)

1 bottle of a yummy red sauce you like

1 yellow onion

1 or 2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 container mushrooms (any kind you like, I get what's on sale and already sliced--and Josh would tell you, I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms, but they don't overpower in this, so I can do it)

1/2-1 bag baby spinach (up to you)

1 can black beans

1/4 cup Red wine (or white)

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning (little tip with dried seasonings, if you rub them in your hand as you dump them in, it helps release more of the oils into your food and give better flavor)

1 tsp Dried basil

1/2 tsp or so of garlic powder

Fresh parmesan cheese

Boil the noodles in salted water, drain, set aside.

Dice the onion and mushrooms. Tear the spinach in half or thirds.

Saute the onions with a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a large saucepan (yes, saucepan, this is so it will be all in one dish, I used the pan I had boiled the noodles in once I drained them--cut all the veggies while the noodles were boiling).

Once the onions are transparent, add the italian seasoning, basil, mushrooms, and spinach. Saute for about a minute, until the spinach is wilted and the mushrooms seem kinda soft.

Add the wine and bring to a simmer (just a minute or two). Add the bottle of spaghetti sauce and the black beans. Bring to a simmer.

Turn off the stove, add the noodles, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Garlic toast is always yummy as a side...

Side note--I used what veggies I had in the fridge, cut up carrots, celery, bell peppers, etc would all work. Use what you like, leave out what you don't. The goal is to get a good 2-3 servings of veggies in this one dish, trust me, your body will thank you!

Second side note--While making my own sauce works sometimes, I have decided I like doctoring up bottled sauce, because canned tomatoes leach BPA out of cans, which is not good, so I tell myself all the bottled sauces were only in the fresh tomato form. This is possibly not true, but, my mind likes that idea better. Oh, and it's quicker.

Enjoy!