- [Beth Le Manach] Hey guys,
today I am participating in
the "New Year New You" co-lab
hosted by Kin Community.
So this whole month Kin
creators have been up-loading
their favorite videos that will help you
get back on track for the new year.
So after my video is done be
sure to click the annotation
and you'll be able to watch the play-list
and see all of these fantastic videos.
A new video will be up-loaded daily
all the way through February 3rd.
So today is my turn and
I am going to show you
a fantastic recipe for anybody
who's trying to cook more for their family
but is dealing with picky eaters.
I know the situation all too well.
I live with two of them myself.
So one of the things that I have noticed
about my own children is that they
will always eat pasta or pizza.
And I find that that's usually
a success with most children.
So what I did is I called this
dish a "Pasta Pizza Bake."
I mean, who could resist that, right?
But then I have layered
in all kinds of vegetables
and proteins to help their
little bodies stay strong
and grow when they need it most.
Okay. Let me show you how
to make this family classic
that everybody will love.
Now, when it comes to this recipe,
I do like to use the fusilli pasta.
That's the pasta that looks
like a little corkscrew.
Because, later we're going to be
adding some vegetables to this dish
and the nice thing about this pasta
is all the vegetables actually cling
to all the nooks and
crannies of the pasta.
So when your children
are taking a big bite
of their cheesy pasta,
they don't even know
that they're getting the vegetables
because they're just hidden in there.
Now I have found that I really like to use
these gluten-free pastas
from time to time.
I really love the brown rice quinoa pasta
because I find that it
doesn't get very gummy
and kind of fall apart on you
like some gluten-free pastas.
I highly recommend it.
Meanwhile we're going to
brown some sausage in a pan.
I really, for this recipe, like
to use the chicken sausage,
because I find that it's
a little bit lighter
than pork-based sausages.
You're going to remove the
sausage from the casings.
Drizzle about a tablespoon
of olive oil in the pan.
And just go ahead and cook it,
cutting it up with a wooden
spoon until it's nice
and browned and cooked through.
Meanwhile, you also want to add
about a tablespoon of Italian seasoning.
If you can find the Italian
chicken sausage, all the better,
but I always find that
it does usually take
a little bit more seasoning
just to bring out the best flavor.
Once the sausage is cooked through,
we are just going to transfer it
to a plate lined with paper
towel and allow it to drain.
Meanwhile, we're gonna
take out a large stock pot
and we're gonna add
another tablespoon of oil
in the bottom of this pan.
This is where all the veggies come in.
We're gonna saute up half
a cup of white onion,
one carrot, and one celery stalk.
Go ahead and just saute that all up
until the vegetables are nice and tender.
They should take anywhere
from 5-8 minutes.
At that point you can
add the tomato sauce.
This is just the tomato sauce
that you can get in a can.
Sometimes it's also known as tomato puree.
You don't want any seasonings
or anything in the sauce.
Just plain tomato sauce will do the trick.
We're also gonna add
one minced garlic clove,
a teaspoon of salt, and
some freshly cracked pepper.
We are just going to simmer
our sauce for about 10 minutes.
Just until that acidity
in the sauce is reduced
and that it mellows in flavor
and the sauce ends up
being a little bit sweet.
At this point your pasta
is most likely done.
You can go ahead and drain it,
add it to your sauce pot,
throw back in the sausage,
and give the whole thing
a big generous stir.
Transfer this whole mixture
into an oven-safe casserole.
Because this is going to
be served oven-to-table,
I do like to choose a
casserole that is decorative
and looks nice.
I recently just got this
one. It's from Revolve.
It's part of the Elizabeth Karmel
Everyday Essentials Collection.
And she has some fantastic pieces.
So, if you have a little
bit of Christmas money
and you're in the market for
a new oven-to-table casserole,
I put a link in the description
and you can find out where to get one.
Then we're gonna top the whole thing
with some low-fat, skim mozzarella cheese.
Again, just to make it
a little bit healthier.
Go ahead and just sprinkle it on the top.
Then we're gonna pop it in our broiler.
Now the broiler setting is where
you just have the heating
implement on the top.
We want to just basically
brown the cheese,
we don't necessarily have
to bake the whole casserole.
Once the cheese is nice
and brown and bubbly,
you can take it out.
Then the final step is
just to top your casserole
with a little bit of
freshly chopped parsley.
I love this dish because it comes together
in under 30 minutes.
It's loaded with vegetables,
some gluten-free pasta
and of course the protein
of the chicken sausage.
You'll also find, if you're
dealing with picky eaters,
it resembles pizza enough,
it resembles pasta enough,
that they just might dig in and try it.
Give it a go, let me know what you think,
and for more quick and easy
recipes be sure to subscribe.
You know it always makes me
happy when you guys subscribe!
I will see you back here next week
for another quick and easy weeknight meal.
Alright, until then, bye!
