This is absolutely one of my favorite meals to have for dinner…and although it says “vegetarian” in the title, it can also be pretty flexible. You can add things like shredded chicken or beef to the sauce if you prefer a little meaty protein in your meals.

For this recipe, I use an FANTASTIC tool called the “Veggetti,” and yes, it is one of those “as seen on TV” items, but this one is great. It is a spiral, string-cutting utensil. You can cut all sorts of things into spaghetti-like cuts, thick or thin slices. You could cut a potato, then dice the string cuts to make hash-browns, or, as I do in this recipe, turn squash and zucchini into vegetable-spaghetti. No more need to buy expensive and pain-in-the-butt spaghetti squash- now you can make it yourself in minutes. **I know…I sound just like the “as seen on tv” commercials…sorry**

All-Veggie Vegetarian Spaghetti:

Serves 4. Prep time: 20 min. Cook time: 20 min

** Before cutting & cooking veggies, MAKE SURE to wash them well…ESPECIALLY the mushrooms! If they’re fresh from the grocery store, they may still have residue on them from when growing, so make sure to wash gently & pat dry.

Cooking Utensils Needed:

• Cutting board
• Sauce pan
• Sautée pan
• Veggetti cutting tool
• Cooking spray
• Olive oil

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 1/2 onion- diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper- diced
• 2 Roma tomatoes- diced
• 3-5 Button Mushrooms- diced
• 23 oz tomato sauce
• 3-4 sprigs of oregano (fresh or dried)- diced
• 1 tbs garlic
• 1/2 tbs basil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Ingredients for Spaghetti:

• 2 medium-large zucchini
• 2 medium-large yellow squash
• 1/2 tbs olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Sauce Instructions:

1. Spray your sauce pan with cooking spray. You’ll start by sautéing the veggies in the sauce, so you might as well do it in this pan.
2. Dice & sauté the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and roma tomatoes. Sauté the veggies together for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Stir regularly to avoid burning or sticking to the pan.
3. Add the tomato sauce, diced oregano, garlic, and basil. Stir the mixture then allow to cook on low-medium heat, uncovered, while you prep and sauté the “vegetti” noodles.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Noodle Instructions:

1. Spray large sauté pan with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
2. Use Veggetti tool to spiral-slice both zucchini and squash. **Watch your fingers- there is a safety grip, so make sure you use it properly so as to not slice your fingers**. This is a continuous cutting tool until you’ve used up the whole vegetable. Once I’ve finished using the Veggetti, I always cut the spiraled veggie in half or thirds to make the “noodles” smaller.
3. Place cut veggies into sauté pan and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Cook/stir regularly on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, checking for tenderness.

Enjoy with a delicious wine, buttered & toasted French bread, and a great group of friends!