Spaghetti O’s are totally one of my guilty pleasures. When I was pregnant, I lusted after that cheesy orange goodness like most pregnant women lust after a Bill Knapp’s chocolate cake (anyone from Michigan remember those?). Although I opted for the Trader Joe’s Organic O’s in order to make myself feel better, I wanted a fresh option to feed to my toddler.
Cue a super easy recipe that tastes almost better than the real thing.
Homemade Spaghetti O’s
-
1
tablespoon
extra-virgin olive oil
-
1/2
onion, chopped
-
1
carrot, chopped
-
32
ounce vegetable broth
-
28
ounce
can crushed tomatoes
-
4
tablespoons
butter, softened
-
1/2 pound pasta- I used little O’s, but you can use crushed up whole wheat or veggie pasta like rotini
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat EVOO over medium heat in a large pot, then add onion and carrot. Cook to soften about 5-7 min- the onion cooked faster than the carrot for me, so next time I would add the carrot first.
- Add vegetable broth and tomatoes; cover and bring to boil.
- Drop in the butter and puree with an immersion blender until smooth (if you don’t have this amazing little tool, I am guessing you could put the concoction into a regular blender but not sure how the heat would treat it).
- Dump in the pasta and cook until al dente, basically according to package directions.
- Season with salt & pepper and add a cup or two of water to thin it down. The pasta will continue to absorb water.
If you wanted to kick up the healthy factor, I imagine adding extra veggies like cooked spinach before blending would work.
Enjoy!
Note: This recipe is adapted from Rachael Ray’s Tomato Alphabet Soup