Tomato sauce will make or break an Italian meal. If it’s not good, your meal will taste off. And if it’s not healthy, your body will feel it.
I grew up in a home where we ate spaghetti and meat-sauce just about every week-night. Literally. But we loved it. My parents are pretty awesome cooks and we grew up on homemade pasta and homemade pasta sauce. To this day, I appreciate the love and attention that goes into preparing marinara sauce. It tastes so radically different than others riddled with sugar, salt and other preservatives. Most sauces have tons of additives and it really effects the taste, and of course, your health.
Personally, I have yet to master the art of tomato sauce. Mom and dad, if you’re reading this, I need another lesson, please. Because of that (and time), I rely on store bought. But I’m a tough critic, based on growing up in a home with Italian roots.
On top of that, tomatoes are part of the “Dirty Dozen”, a group of highly pesticide laden foods. While eating organic isn’t always cost effective for every item on my grocery list, tomatoes are one food that I do try to buy organic, especially when it comes to marinara sauce.
I was really excited when my favorite organic brand, Organico Bello, asked me to write this blog and create a recipe with marinara sauce using their product. Their sauce is non-GMO, has no added sugar (hooray for calm kids!), no added salt and is totally organic. Healthy, delicious sauce? Yes, please! Plus, it’s 30% off til Aug 12 – using the code BACKTOSCHOOL. Shop here.
So, to prepare a new recipe, I grabbed some sauce, pasta, butternut squash and some other goodies and created this dish for you.
And just for the record, both of my kids had seconds and I think my hubby had thirds 😉
Here’s the finished product. It’s super simple to prepare and is sure to be family favorite. Plus, tomato sauce is a great way to “hide” and disguise veggies. Your kids will get a healthy serving of butternut squash which is full of fiber, vitamins C & A and even magnesium (the calming mineral)
Penne Pasta with Butternut Squash
Ingredients:
1 or 1.5 Jars Organico Bello tomato sauce (any flavor)
1 Butternut Squash
10-12 ounces cooked penne pasta
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion
1 tbsp chopped garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the butternut squash with a standard ve
getable peeler and use a sharp knife to carefully cut it in half. Slice into 1″ pieces and put them in a 9×13 pan, coated with a few tablespoons of olive oil and about a teaspoon of salt. Roast in the oven for about 35 minutes or until fork tender.
Begin to boil a pot of water for the pasta. While that’s boiling, chop one onion and saute in a pan with the garlic for about 5-7 minutes until the onions are translucent with a bit of salt (about half a teaspoon). Put them in a separate bowl and then add a bit more olive oil to the pan on medium heat to cook up the turkey. Once it’s browned, add the onions and garlic back in the pan and add one jar of Organico Bello tomato sauce. I used Tomato Basil. We love a very “saucey” pasta, so I added about a half jar of their Tomato and Kale sauce to it. That’s optional.
Cook the pasta al dente according to the box. Once it’s finished, add it to the turkey and sauce mixture. When the squash is finished, add that to the pan and mix it all up. Voila!
Oh, and we added a little Pecorino Romano cheese on top for the kids.
I hope you enjoy this fast back to school meal. Make sure you stock up on Organico Bello sauce from now until August 12th – 30% off is a great deal (Code: BACKTOSCHOOL).
Happy, healthy eating my friends!
Wishing you the best of health,
Meghan