KIDS PASTA MEAL WITH MULT-COLORED GRAPE TOMATOES

A Colorful Summer Kids Meal

We have a fun fact about this recipe. It has been kid tested and kid approved. One summer night I was making Ricky’s GRAPE TOMATOES & SAUSAGE WITH BOWTIE PASTA for dinner. I added some bright colored grape tomatoes that I had in the refrigerator, just to use them up. When I was done, I loved how bright and colorful it was. I couldn’t help but think, that with the sweet mild flavor of grape tomatoes and the bowtie pasta, this meal might be picky eater friendly. I decided to test my theory. I knew just where to go. My friend Mike has a couple of youngsters that are not always excited (an understatement) about eating dinner.😝 He and his wife were at the end of their rope with trying to get something on the table that their kids would eat. I knew they would be great test subjects. I whipped up a multi-colored batch and gave it to Mike to bring it home to his picky eaters, for an unbiased review. His boys were not told they were being used as food critics. Mike brought it home from work, put it on the dinner table and spooned it onto their plates. I doubt he had an optimistic expectation. Dinnertime had been much too challenging for too long. Well, as you can imagine, I was no happier than Dad when he reported that they “gobbled it all up”! What more does anyone need to know? This recipe is Gobble up Good! So, if you know of any kids that are challenging to please at the dinner table, pass this recipe along. Their parents may be really glad you did. We owe a big thank you to our discriminating food critics, Bode and Levi, for their endorsement. You’re the best!

The dinner I made for Mike’s boys, had Italian sausage meat in it. The original dinner recipe is GRAPE TOMATOES & SAUSAGE WITH BOWTIE PASTA. But in this adaptation, we omitted the sausage, to offer a recipe that suits a larger variety of dietary preferences. If you are okay with adding meat, It’s great with Italian sausage meat, but ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey would be just as good, and perhaps on the leaner side. Cook the ground meat in a skillet just until it is done, but not browned, and without draining the meat rendering from the pan, follow the recipe as demonstrated. You can also add some protein by letting the kids sprinkle some shredded cheese on top.

This recipe is as easy as it gets.

Here’s what YOU WILL NEED:

Bowtie pasta isn’t usually sold in 1 pound boxes, at least in our area. It’s usually less than 1 pound. Use as much of the box as you think will be eaten. I usually do not use the whole box when I make this dish.

We have a recipe for grown ups using standard sized colored tomatoes. Ricky makes a very simple tomato salad. A couple of years ago we posted the recipe and used heirloom tomatoes for our pictures. It’s a show stopper. Take this salad to your next pot luck and wow the crowd. Take a look TOMATO SALAD.

This is WHAT TO DO:

Start the pasta, according to package directions. The tomatoes will be ready before the pasta. Drain pasta when done and add a splash of olive oil so it won’t stick if your sauce isn’t ready yet.

Cut the grape tomatoes in half through the middle, not top to bottom.

If you are adding a ground meat to the sauce, warm the olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat, and cook the meat until it is just done, not browned, before adding the tomatoes.

KID TESTED & KID APPROVED