Hearty Christmas Pasta

My dad and I created this recipe together when I was home for a few days leading up to Christmas. I call it Christmas pasta because it is red and green. It is very filling and delicious, and has some unexpected ingredients that most people (myself included) don't tend to think of as going with pasta (such as the carrots), but worked very well. This could be made healthier by using lean ground beef and turkey sausage, but since it includes so many veggies already it isn't too bad. Since we made this up by tasting as we went along, I am going to try my best to recall this exactly how we did it, but I didn't take any exact measurements so keep that in mind.



Hearty Christmas Pasta
A Kelsey and Jeff original

1 box farfalle pasta, cooked
1/2 lb. ground beef
2 links italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 - 1 whole onion, chopped
3-4 cloves minced garlic1 1/2 green peppers, in a large dice
2 handfuls baby carrots
4-5 celery ribs with leaves, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste and 1 can of water
2 teaspoons Dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
Handful fresh basil leaves
Handful cherry tomato halves

Brown ground beef and sausage in a large skillet. Remove from pan and add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes then add the green peppers, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes or so until starting to soften, then add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and seasonings. Add browned meat back into the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is reduced to the consistency you want. Make sure to taste the sauce as you go and adjust seasonings. Remove from heat, stir in basil and cherry tomatoes, and serve over the farfalle.