In 2005 I purchased a book called The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan by Barbara Rolls {non affiliated Amazon link there btw I get no funds if you click} and it has given me a tried and true family favorite recipe.  Basically she asks that you take some pasta and about 4 mins before it is done cooking throw in some veggies.  Her recipe calls for green beans, broccoli, carrots, celery, and a red pepper.  Then you drain the whole kit and kaboodle and toss with some pressed garlic, a glug of two of olive oil, salt & pepper, and shredded parmesan.  Some fresh basil too.

I like cooking my veggies with the pasta and tossing in the seasonings afterwards for a customizable pasta primavera.  My children, being picky, dislike one vegetable or another.  None of them will eat the celery.  Only one will eat the red pepper and one will shrug at the green beans.  The youngest hates cooked carrots. Basically they only agree on the broccoli and pasta.  Fair enough.

Actually come to think of it the youngest likes the green beans and not the broccoli.  Sigh.  Well never mind.  Regardless of the picking through the veggies for stuff they like all the kids will eat this which is more than I can say for a dish of just broccoli or just carrots or just cauliflower or just green beans or just *insert seasonal vegetable*

Lately I have been on a cauliflower kick so made it with chopped cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans.  I threw in a can of cannelloni beans for protein since my eldest won’t touch chicken which was the main course that night.  I left out the parmesan since she also tinkers with being a vegetarian and figured people could sprinkle on their own.  Quantities of veggies is also customizable.  The other day I filled up my largest mixing bowl full of veggies: sugar snap peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, peppers  and tossed it in with about 3/4 lb of pasta.  About 4 times more veggies than pasta.   The recipe calls for about an equal amount of raw veggies and pasta so I really upped the volumetrics of the recipe ;D

Anyway I felt like snapping a picture since I thought it looked nice and  figured that, since the picture didn’t look totally horrendous, I would share my basic recipe.

bon appétit