A quick weeknight meal that can feed a small army and both kids love, is a win for me. Kielbasa being one of the few meats Spencer will eat without badgering him into it and spaghetti being one of everyone’s favorite meals. This meal will provide leftovers for days.
It will also make use of a number of preserved garden goodies. Homemade canned tomato sauce, dehydrated tomatoes, and dried herbs like celery leaf, rosemary and oregano.
I start by slicing the kielbasa into coins and tossing them into a saute pan with a little olive oil.
They are going to get browned on one side then flip and toss in 1 large onion diced, and 3 cloves of garlic diced. I give these 1-2 minutes to sweat and then pour in a quart of our tomato sauce.
Now into the sauce I add 1 cup of diced dried tomatoes (you could use sun dried or just add some fresh tomatoes), 1 large carrot grated, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded, 1 teaspoon dried celery leaf (or you could use Parsley), then dashes and pinches of rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. I really like using dried tomatoes in our sauces because it thickens the sauce and really explodes the tomato-y taste.
Once all that is stirred and combined I am going to let it just cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. This give me just enough time to cook pasta or spaghetti and have it ready once sauce is done.
That is all there is to it. Quick and easy with tons of preserved garden goodies and highly customize-able to anyone’s taste. This meal will fill us all up for dinner with at least 4 additional lunches for the little maniacs.
- 14 oz (1 package) Kielbasa sliced into coins
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- 1 quart tomato sauce
- 1 cup dried tomatoes diced
- 1 large carrot shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 teaspoon dried celery leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- dash red pepper flakes
- 1 lb spaghetti cooked
- In a large saute pan brown the kielbasa in olive oil 2-3 minutes on medium high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium and add onions and garlic.
- Cook 1 minute while stirring and add tomato sauce, carrot, dried tomatoes, Parmesan, celery leaf, salt, black pepper, rosemary, oregano, and red pepper.
- Stir to combine and continue cooking 15 minutes while occasionally stirring.
- Once sauce is done toss with pasta and enjoy!