A perfect meatless monday treat 🙂

I have a toddler who right now is very picky with any kind of meat or chicken. He can tell the difference between a real bolognese and a mushroom one! Safe to say, i was able to give this to him on top of some whole grain penne and he gobbled it up….Consistency is right for kids because it has some chunks in it that they enjoy to pick up with their fingers, but smooth enough to stay on the noodle and keep things LESS messy!

Ingredients:

1 tsp vegetable oil

2lbs baby bella mushrooms

1 large onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2, 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes

4 tbsp tomato paste

1/2c water

salt, pepper and parsley

Directions:

Chop onion, set aside

Chop mushrooms into halves and then either process them into ground consistency or chop them well until they resemble ground meat texture.

Heat a large pot with oil and sauté the chopped garlic and onion. Once translucent add the mushrooms and let them cook for about 5-8 minutes. The mushrooms release water and then that water boils off. Add tomato paste and stir to combine. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover. Cook for at least 30 minutes but the longer the better! Add parsley flakes at the end or fresh parsley.

Nutrition Tip:

This counts as a vegetable! You can boil meatballs into it, put it on top of your favorite pasta or if you want to be REALLY low calorie for dinner time, steam a quick bag of vegetables and top it with this sauce and some parmesan cheese!

Storage Tip:

Store this sauce in large ziplock freezer bags, fill the bag about 2/3 of the way and then flatten it out and place in top portion of the freezer. It will freeze to a solid slab that’s easy to store. When you’re ready for it you can take it out and keep it in the bag in a bowl with warm water to loosen it before you add it to your favorite pasta!