Pizza Pasta

My family loves pasta, even though the Princess prefers hers to be sauce-free. Yes, I know. It's weird. But hey, we all have our likes and dislikes. I'm hoping one day she'll give sauce another try.

Not only that, no one except me likes non-tomato based sauces. So that means no Alfredo dishes, no garlic butter sauces, no carbonara. Nothing but tomatoes for this crew. So I do what I can to jazz up the pasta and this is one way I do it.

I don't have a specific recipe for this - just a little of this and a little of that. I start with a jar of plain Ragu spaghetti sauce. You can use your own favorite jarred or homemade sauce.

I tried to think of what we like on our pizza. Pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and onions are the most frequently requested items. So I chop up some of each and throw it all into a pot with the sauce. To this I add about 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Then it all simmers together for an hour or so to let the flavors combine well.

While that is simmering, I cook the pasta. I try to change up the shapes often - penne, rotini, farfalle, radiatori - to add some more interest to the dish. It's amazing how much kids enjoy eating different shapes of pasta!

When the pasta is finished cooking, I drain it and put into individual bowls. Then I top it with the pizza sauce and some mozzarella or colby-jack cheese.


The beauty of this idea is that you can customize your own pizza preferences to your family's tastes. You like sausage? Throw it in there! Are olives your thing? Add it to your sauce! The choices are endless!

I'd love to post a picture of Mr. Lego with a string of cheese hanging out of his mouth while eating this, but I can't get Blogger to upload any photos today. Hmmm.

For more yummy recipes, visit Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.