I feel the need to start this blog post off by saying, I do NOT always have it together at meal time.

Despite my best intentions, sometimes meal prep goes out the window. Sometimes I find myself in the drive-thru.

Actually, if I’m being completely honest, last week I was such a frazzled mama that I found myself in the wrong drive-thru. By that, I mean I tried to order a 10 pack of nuggets at a coffee shop! It had been a long day!

Not only did I feel bad for hitting up the drive-thru in the first place, I felt like a complete knob for hitting up the wrong one!

Did you know that, according to a recent poll completed by Catelli Pasta, 43% of parents stress about their children’s eating habits at least once a day? If you also have the mealtime mom guilt, I hope that stat makes you feel better! You are SO not alone!

SIDEBAR: I wonder what percentage of parents have gone through the WRONG drive-thru? I can’t be alone on that one either! Right?

Anyway, that night aside, I will say, I do try my best to keep it together at meal time…  most days I make it happen. The key is to keep it simple. 

If you’ve been following along on Instagram Stories you know that pasta is one of our “go to” meals during the winter months, especially on nights when we have hockey.

We’re in a crazy busy season with the kids. Many evenings, we have two hockey practices/games and a kid who needs to get out the door for work, so there is little time for dinner prep. On these nights, my crock pot is my best friend.

I shared this pasta sauce over on my Instagram Stories a few weeks back and had oodles of requests for the recipe… so here you go!

I prep the sauce whenever I have a spare 30 minutes during the day. Whether it be first thing in the morning, mid-day or even a couple hours before dinner, anything goes. The longer it simmers the better, but it’s delicious no matter what!

It’s also good to freeze and then defrost on the days when you don’t even have that 30 minutes to prep, so I highly recommend making a double batch.

Here’s the recipe! 
INGREDIENTS:

·      2 containers of tomato sauce
·      1 large can of tomato paste
·      2 lbs of beef
·      1 onion chopped (if your kids don’t like onion, chop them up REALLY small and they won’t even notice)
·      1 clove of garlic
·      1 tablespoon of Italian Spice
·      Optional: diced tomatoes
·      Catelli Smart Linguine (with 11g of protein and 8 g of fibre per serving, it’s the perfect pre-game meal!)

DIRECTIONS:

·      brown the beef with the chopped onion (on medium heat)
·      once it’s cooked, drain the beef and toss it in the crock pot
·      throw in everything else, stir it up and put on high or low, depending on how long until you’re going to eat it (if we are eating it in less than 3 hours, I start with high)
·      Cook pasta according to the directions
·      Top your pasta with the sauce
·      add parmesan cheese (if desired)
·      Serve with Caesar Salad and garlic bread!

Voila!

Note: This can also be made on the stove top – just let it simmer for at least half an hour.

It’s the perfect winter dinner, especially on those nights when the little athletes will benefit from a CARB LOAD!

Give it a try, and if you like it (which I know you will) help out your fellow mamas by sharing it on your Facebook Page or Pinning it on Your Pinterest Board!

#RealFeelsGood #CatelliFamilies

DISCLOSURE: This post was created in partnership with Catelli Pasta. While I received compensation for this post, all opinions are my own (and this recipe, came from my Dad!)

Are you following along on Instagram yet? If not, what the heck are you waiting for?