I promise bell peppers are easier to carve that pumpkins 😅.
I love that this recipe pairs spaghetti, (something kids usually love) with the raw bell pepper for more nutrition. To also make this recipe even healthier I used quinoa pasta and made my own marinara sauce. Making your own marinara sauce is actually really easy and fast with this recipe. 😃 Also CHEAP!
Ingredients
2-3 large organic bell peppers to carve and stuff.
1 large pack of cherry/grape tomatoes or 5 roma tomatoes
1 onion diced
4 cloves of garlic mined
3 bay leafs
1TBS oregano
1 TBS black pepper
1 TBS red pepper flakes
1 TBS salt
1 TBS garlic powder
2-3 TBS of olive oil
1 package of linguine or angle hair pasta. Get either whole wheat, or quinoa pasta for extra nutrients.
Directions:
First carve your bell peppers. Cut off the tops, take out the seeds and flesh inside then start carving! Make your mouth big enough so some spaghetti can be hanging out.
Start boiling you water in a large pot to make your pasta. Follow package instructions.
Diced up you tomatoes, onion, and garlic.
In another pot heat the olive oil, add all the dried spices: bay leafs, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper.
Let cook 1 min then add onions and garlic, stir frequently.
Once onions are cooked add the tomatoes. Turn on low and let simmer covered.
After about 5 minuets the tomatoes should be cooked and become easy to break apart. I use my spatula to mash the tomato onion mixture down into a chunky marinara sauce. You could also put this mixture in the blender if your kids don't like chunks. Taste it. Keep adding salt until it is the flavor you like, then the sauce is done! I recommend using this recipe as a base and then making it your own. You could add cut up carrot to sneak another veggie into the sauce. You could add coconut milk and nutritional yeast to give it a more cheesy creamy flavor. Basil would also be a good addition. 😃
Add sauce to your cooked pasta. Have your kids help with stuffing the bell peppers. You can even add more veggies to this so kids have an assortment of items to stuff in their peppers.
