Alphabet Pasta with Meat and Vegetable Sauce

This is one of my bambino's favorite dishes. I'm not sure if it's the sauce or the pasta that he goes crazy for, but it doesn't matter. This is also one of my favorite dishes to serve baby, as it combines many of the essential food groups in a single dish - veggies, protein and carbs. I chose zucchini and squash for the vegetables in this sauce, as they become rather mushy after cooking. Feel free to experiment with other veggies, such as red/green bell peppers and eggplant. Or for a power veggie packed sauce, add these to the list!

Ingredients
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 italian zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 lb ground beef
2 14 oz cans of chopped tomatoes
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1/4 t each of oregano, basil, and thyme
salt and peper to taste

Eden Organic Alphabet Pasta or small star pasta
Grated parmesean cheese

Dice the onion and garlic and saute in olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes until tender.
Dice the italian zucchini and yellow squash and add to the onion/garlic mixture with the oregano, basil and thyme. Saute until tender and remove from heat.

In a large deep pan, heat 2 T olive oil and add the ground beef. Cook until brown and break into small pieces using a wooden spoon. When the beef is fully cooked and browned, add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato paste, season with salt and pepper, and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables to the beef mixture, cover, and allow to simmer for an additional 5-8 minutes.

Cook pasta according to instructions. Add desired amount of sauce over a serving of pasta. Sprinke with parmesean cheese and serve!

Approximately 16-24 servings. Freeze the remaining sauce in serving size portions.

NOTE: While any small pasta shapes will work well with this sauce, the Eden brand is the only one that I could find that is both whole grain and organic.

Introduction to My Baby Gourmet

One need only cruise down the baby food aisle of the supermarket to realize that the options for baby food are severly limited. Most pureed baby foods have been manufactured under such high heat to ensure sterility that much of the flavor, texture and even the colors have faded. Baby's first introduction to the world of solid food deserves much more than the glop that you find in jars or cans.

Making your own baby food is surprisingly simple. It is also a wonderful opportunity to learn about your baby's unique preferences. And there is nothing more rewarding than seeing your baby open wide for the next morsel of homemade goodness.

My Baby Gourmet is intended to help busy mothers find easy and practical solutions for feeding baby. I hope that you will find it useful!