Pasta with Veggie Marinara and Breadsticks--Andrea

It's kind of funny that both Laura & I are posting a Marinara sauce recipe this week, but that's what I had planned so... Correct me if I'm wrong here, Laura, but yours sounds more like a dipping/pizza sauce. Mine is more of a meal/pasta topping with the vegetables. At any rate, you can't go wrong with a bunch of good sauce recipes! I think most of you have eaten this--Kevin and I made it for one of our reunion meals I think a few years ago?

PASTA WITH MARINARA SAUCE

2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 onion, minced
1 T. olive oil
Heat these in saucepan until onion starts to turn translucent & garlic is fragrant

2-3 large zucchini, chopped into 1/4 inch-size cubes (I've actually started grating one of these and chopping them quite small, since my boys don't love the chunks all that much)
Saute this until starting to be tender, then add to pan:
10-14 mushrooms, chopped (again, half of this ends up grated to cut down the chunkiness, and the grated vegetables help thicken the sauce)

When vegetables are crisp-tender, add:
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 large cans tomato sauce
1 small can diced tomatoes
(you can alter the amount and types of tomatoes according to your tastes)
2-3 T. dried parsley (or the equivalent amount fresh if you have it; I never do)
2-3 tsp. basil (same with fresh)
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
(I made this recipe up, so it's a little different every time. Just do what you think. It's very forgiving and almost impossible to mess up.)

Serve over pasta, preferrably in Dad's bowls, if you have them. It does taste better that way :0) This is a healthy recipe and would, of course, be more healthy over whole wheat pasta.


ONE-HOUR BREADSTICKS

I do have another breadstick recipe that I like a little better than these, but they also take about twice as long. This is my favorite for when I forget to start the others (more than half the time I make them :0). We got this from Kevin's sister Jolyn and it's a good one and super easy (especially with the time-saver tweaks I've figured out). This recipe makes about 30 5 inch breadsticks.

1 1/2 c. hot water
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 c. flour
1 T. yeast

1- Preheat oven to 350
2- Stick your water, sugar and salt in a mixer bowl.
3- Mix the yeast with 1 c. flour and slowly add it to the water, mixing on low, (I'm assuming here that you are using a good brand of yeast (Saf-instant) that doesn't have to be proofed. If it does, add the yeast but not the salt to luke-warm water in the second step, then the flour & salt in the third step. I always make these with at least 1/2 whole wheat flour, sometimes more--they are way healthier that way, if a little more dense)
4- Add enough flour so you have a dough that is still a tiny bit sticky
5- If using ww flour, mix in mixer for about 5 minutes.
6- Stick cookie sheet into oven to warm for a few minutes while the dough rests, about 5 minutes.
7- Pull cookie sheet out & spray with oil
8- Using fingers (but don't burn yourself) or a rolling pin, spread dough out as far as it will go toward edge of pan.
9- Use a pizza roller to cut through the middle horizontally, then every inch or inch & a half across to cut your breadsticks. (don't worry about getting all the way to the edge: they are easy to pull apart after they bake)
10- Bake 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Optional: for extra flavor, add 1 tsp. garlic powder & italian seasoning to dough. And/or: before or after baking, brush dough or breadsticks with butter or olive oil and sprinkle this awesome stuff on.