Recipe: Easy Breezy Zoodles with Meat Sauce

It's summer.

Zucchini are all over the place.

I've got frozen veggies (peppers/onions/carrots/shrooms) in the freezer that I bagged up a few weeks ago 'cuz I had too many and I didn't want to throw them out.

I've got a jar of spaghetti sauce.

I've got a package of grass-fed ground beef.

Soooooo....You know what THIS means, right?

This means it's the perfect time for zoodles with meat sauce!

I listed a recipe below, but honestly, this is pretty much one of those, "just-throw-it-all-in-the-Instant Pot" kind of recipes. If you don't have every ingredient, no worries....improvise!

It'll be fine. No measuring needed. Just make sure you have enough sauce for the meat. That's it.

Here's how it goes...

Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) with Meat Sauce 

(A “no measurement, just throw everything in” recipe!)

Equipment:

• Instant Pot (You can also make this in a crockpot or on the stove)

• Spiralizer 

Ingredients:

• For Sauce

• Olive oil (or avocado oil)

• 1 onion, diced

• 1 bell pepper, diced

• Random veggies, diced

• 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed or diced

• 1.5 lb Organic grass fed Ground Beef (or ground turkey, scrambled sausage, chopped chicken or other meat of choice)

• Salt & Pepper

• Canned diced tomatoes (drained)

• Tomato Sauce (jar or can)

• 1-2 T Italian Seasoning 

• A dash of chili powder if you like your sauce a little spicy

• A splash of coconut aminos or worcestershire sauce if you like your sauce a little sweet

• Tomato paste

• 2-3 handfuls of Power greens or baby spinach, chopped (I usually take handfuls of leaves and cut them up with kitchen scissors!) 

• For zoodles
• Zucchini
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder

Directions:

1. Spiralize zucchini.  Set aside on a paper towel.

2. Press saute on your Instant Pot and add in a little olive oil or avocado oil. Once hot, add in diced onions, diced bell peppers, and any other random veggies--carrots, zucchini, eggplant, etc.   Stir.  Saute for 3-4 mins.  

3. Once veggies are soft, add minced garlic.  Stir.  Saute about 1-2 mins. 

4. Add ground beef (or whatever meat you’re using).  Scramble and brown with a little salt and pepper.  

5. Drain fat with a spoon (doesn't have to be perfect!).  

6. Add drained, canned diced tomatoes, canned or jarred tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning.  If you like a spicy sauce, add a little chili powder.  If you like a sweet sauce, add a splash of coconut aminos.  (You can also add both for a little sweet and spicy sauce!)  

7. Put cover on IP, seal the steam release valve, and set to high pressure for 20-30 mins.  When done, slow release.  

8. After the pressure has released, open the cover, if your sauce is watery, stir in some tomato paste.  Taste, adjust seasonings if needed.  Add chopped greens and stir into sauce until just wilted (just for a little extra nutrition). 

9. Now back to the zoodles!  On the stove, heat olive oil or avocado oil in a pan on medium high heat.  Once the oil is hot, throw in some zoodles with a little salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Stir them around and cook until just warm, about 1-2 mins (you don’t want to overcook zoodles...they get mushy!). 

10. Put the zoodles in a bowl and top with sauce.  If you like, add a little vegan parmesan cheese.  

Enjoy!   

Sorry for the random crappy photo...it's an old one!