Pasta "casserole"ala Mom

When she got out of college, my mother wasn't much of a cook.   Her mother had done all the cooking growing up. But my mother was determined to teach herself how to cook. She understood "chemistry." I have letters written from her to her grandmother bragging about the first Jell-O salad she made!

Because Mom worked (one of the few in her group of women that did), she needed to throw things together quickly. Casseroles were a mainstay for us.  Luckily she loved pasta. {So did we.} And she adored vegetables. Often she would just chop things up and they'd all go into the meal.

In her honor, I decided to make a throw-together meal like she used to make. My tools are better. I have this fabulous "simple" chopper. It cost pennies to purchase -- I bought it at one of those home cookware events -- and it saves me countless time.

Note, this is a great way to hide vegetables for kids. Chop them up fine and they cook down so that kids don't really "see" them.

MEAT SAUCE AND RIGATONI

HIDDEN VEGGIES, GLUTEN-FREE, SALT FREE

Ingredients: 2 cups cooked gluten-free rigatoni (according to package) (I use Bionature) 1 pound ground beef ½ yellow onion, chopped 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped (seeds removed) 1 zucchini (chopped fine) 1 clove garlic (chopped) 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon white pepper ½ to 1 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions: Cook rigatoni according to the package directions. {May be made ahead and heated at serving by dunking in boiling water quickly.} {Yes, for those who can eat regular pasta, go right ahead!} In a low-temperature skillet, place hamburger. Chop into bits. Let brown for about 5-10 minutes. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, sugar and pepper. Stir and let cook, at 200 degrees or low-low heat, for one hour. When ready to serve, toss rigatoni with meat mixture.  Divide on four plates. Sprinkle with Parmesan. {Note: there is salt in Parmesan cheese.} Enjoy.

* * * * *

You can learn more about me, Avery, by clicking this link.

Chat with me on Facebook and Twitter.

And if you haven't done so, sign up for my mailing list

 so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests!

ALSO...DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY ALTER EGO
DARYL WOOD GERBER?

"Like" Daryl's page on Facebook and "follow" Daryl on Twitter.
She doesn't say all the same things I do.
And pretty soon she'll have some fun news to share!

You'll hear that first in Avery's newsletter!

Say cheese!

***********