Veggie Mini Shell Pasta

Mini Shell Pasta cooked in a marinara sauce, zucchini, kale and cherry tomatoes.

We love to make pasta because there are so many ways you can make them and there are so many different types of pasta. Pasta is super easy and quick to make and that's why I love making it for my family. Being a stay at home mom of two, I love quick, easy and delicious meals that everyone including the kids will enjoy. And oh yeah, it's also a great way to get the kids to eat their vegetables.

For this particular pasta dish, I used mini shell pasta, just to add some fun to our pasta dishes. I've been trying out different types of pastas, and I will say these ones were delicious and super cute and fun.

Substitute for veggies?

Yes, of course you can add any of your favorite vegetables to this dish. If you are not a fan of Kale, you can easily substitute it for spinach. Any type of bell peppers would go great as well as eggplant would also taste amazing in this dish.

Tip 1 : When boiling the pasta, always add a little bit of olive oil and salt to the water. The salt will add more flavor to the pasta and the oil will help it from not sticking together. Also, don't forget to save a little bit of that pasta water. The starch from the water will help thicken up the sauce a little bit.

Tip 2: Under cook pasta by a minute or two since we will be adding it to the sauce and will continue to cook in there.

Tip 3: If the pasta is not as saucy as you like it, you can always add in more sauce if it seems to be on the dry sauce. Because the longer the pasta sits the more sauce it will absorb. So feel free to add in a little more than usual if you would like.

Here's How to make it:

RECIPE:

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Boil pasta, cook 2-3 minutes under

2. dice onions, chop or grate garlic cloves, roughly chop kale, cut zucchini into bite size pieces and set aside.

3. Heat 1 tbsp or 2 tbsp of olive oil, add in your diced onions, kale, zucchini and garlic and cookie until they are tender. Add in your dried oregano, dried basil, salt, black pepper, ground chili powder.

4. Than add in your marinara sauce and let cook for about 1-2 minutes on medium heat than add in your pasta, cherry tomatoes and 1 tbsp of butter and combine well. Cook just until the tomatoes burst. Taste for seasoning. Add any additional season to your liking.

5. Top it off with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese , or chili flakes and enjoy while hot.

RECIPE:

This recipe serves about 4-6 people

1 16 oz box Mini Shells
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 - 2 1/2 cups Marinara sauce
1 medium onion diced
2 zucchini
2-3 cups chopped Kale or Spinach
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese for garnish
3 garlic cloves
10 oz of cherry tomatoes cute into half or whole

Seasoning for vegetables
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tsp ground chili powder 
1/2 tsp crushed chili flakes (optional)
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried basil