Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- ½ pound lean ground beef (15% fat)
- 1 onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 small zucchini, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) tomato-based pasta sauce
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 12 ounces rotini pasta (about 4 cups)
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- In a large skillet, cook beef, onion, garlic and zucchini over medium-high heat (350 degrees F in an electric skillet) until meat is browned and broken into pieces. Drain any fat (see Notes).
- Add the pasta sauce, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes, if desired. Bring to a simmer and cook on medium low (275 degrees F in an electric skillet) for 15 minutes.
- Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions.
- Drain the pasta and add to the sauce in the skillet. Stir in the cheese and cover until the cheese is melted.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
Notes
- Substitute broccoli for zucchini. Cook fresh broccoli with the pasta in step 3 or add frozen broccoli in step 2.
- Pour fat from cooked meat into a metal container. Let it cool, then dispose of it in a garbage can.