Pasta Caprese for the Yum!
Feeding kids and husbankid is almost a full time job during these times. They can never agree on what to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Some nights I end up cooking three to four different meals in order to appease everyone. However, one meal that makes everyone happy is a big bowl of pasta. The favorite shape pasta around here is penne or rigatoni. It’s easy for the little ones to hold or scoop into their mouths and easy for husbankid not to make a mess. And, I don’t have to hear the slurping of spaghetti. Win-win-win!!!
Kids don’t usually like a heavy sauce so I came up with this simple dish to make them happy and flavorful enough to appeal to the adults as well.
There are two ways I usually make this dish. If I am feeling lazy, I skip the meatball making step and just brown the meat in the pan, but most of the time, I go through the process of making the meatballs. As I’ve said before, I associate cooking with love. I love the people I cook for, therefore I take my time making their food.
This is how I usually make my Pasta Caprese:
INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb of cooked pasta
1 lb of ground meat (I used turkey)
1 egg
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes
15 fresh basil leafs
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 lb pearl size mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Mix the ground meat, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, egg, and parmesan cheese together. If you are in a hurry, just through the mixture in a pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil and brown the meat. If you have 5 minutes to spare, make bite size meatballs then brown them in the pan. Once they are browned on all sides, add the cherry tomatoes and minced garlic and cook until the tomatoes are softened. Add basil leaves by tearing them in smaller pieces. Mix and add cooked pasta. Mix well and turn off the heat. Right before your serve the pasta, add pearl sized mozzarella cheese. Make sure you do not add to the hot pan or the cheese will melt. But, if you forget and add the cheese to a hot pan, not a problem. It will still taste great…just with melted cheese.
This dish was devoured before I could take a picture with the pearl mozzarella cheese added.
Cost: about $7
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Time needed: 20 minutes
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