Pasta Fagioli

Feeding toddlers can be tricky.  Especially if they tend to be a little on the picky side.  ”Sneaking” vegetables and sometimes even meat into meals is a daily occurrence in our house.  So imagine my surprise when I served this Pasta Fagioli and the 20 month old seriously licked.his.bowl.clean – not once but twice! The smaller sized pasta, paired with ground beef and kidney beans is the perfect warm up meal for the seemingly unending winter days in Iowa. Luckily – this recipe makes a large batch, because your entire family, even your toddler, will be asking for more!

Pasta Fagioli

Author/Source:

Lisa @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 1.5 pounds ground beef, browned
• 0.25 cups olive oil
• 2 cups onion, diced
• 1 cups celery, diced
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 56 ounces beef broth
• 14 ounces diced tomatoes
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 cup ditalini pasta
• 15 ounces dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Cook onion, celery, garlic and pepper until tender.  Add beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Add in beef and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.  Stir in the ditalini pasta and cook until almost al dente, approximately 8 minutes.  Stir in the beans and continue to simmer for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve warm. 

Freezing Directions:

Follow directions above.  Allow to cool completely.  Transfer to gallon freezer storage bag.  Label and freeze. TO SERVE: Thaw.  Transfer contents to saucepan and reheat on stovetop over medium low heat until warmed through.  Can also be warmed in the microwave. 

Servings: 16

**conversion chart image provided by Erik Spiekermann

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2013 at 9:00 am and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.