Meaty Vegetable Spaghetti

Spaghetti is a dish that you can really enhance with additional ingredients. I took a regular jar of tradional sauce and loaded it with vegetables. The texture of the vegetables almost mirrors the ground beef, making a very hearty and meaty sauce. This recipe also makes it very easy to hide plenty of vegetables from kids. Enjoy!

Serves 4
1 pound lean ground beef
2 large carrots
3 large staulks celery
1 large green pepper
1 medium onion
Salt and pepper to taste
1 jar traditional spaghetti sauce
1 small can petite diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 servings spaghetti pasta

Cut vegetables into 1 inch pieces. Place in a food proccesor and chop into fine pieces. Proccess in batches if needed. In a large sauce pan, add meat, vegetable mixture, salt and pepper. Cook on medium high heat, stirring frequently and breaking up meat. Once meat is cooked through, drain if necessary. Add spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, bay leaves and garlic powder. Bring to a boil and reduce to low. Cover and simmer. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta per directions on pasta, removing 2 minutes before recommended time. Drain and put back into pot. Poor sauce onto pasta and cook on medium for an addition 2 minutes.