vegetable fried pasta

     Just the other day I was getting ready to make my all time favorite vegetable fried rice, I had already chopped the vegetables only to realize I was out off rice! I looked in my pantry and behold there was a bag of spaghetti sitting there; so I decided to make spaghetti using my vegetables, and came up with the following recipe. Just like my "ultimate veggie fried rice" you can use any type of vegetables you like, increase or decrease the quantity. Its whatever suits you and fits in your life style.

what you will need:

•  1 bag of spaghetti 12 oz you can you whole wheat or regular
• 1/2 chopped red onion
• 1/2 red,green pepper 
• 1/2 white onion
• 2 celery sticks
• 2 to 3 medium diced carrots
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 clove of ginger
• 1 medium diced tomato
• 1 cup of mushroom washed and cut in pieces
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil (optional)
•  4 tablespoons of olive oil (or any cooking oil of choice)
• 1 whole broccoli cut in small florets
• 3 tablespoons of reduced sodium Tamari sauce or soy sauce (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce and barbecue sauce
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste (optional)
• salt,pepper,cloves, and other spices to taste  

Preparation:

• In a medium sauce pan add enough water to reach the middle, bring water to a boil and cut your spaghetti in half to fit the sauce pan. cook the spaghetti according to instructions or until desired texture not to soft. When the spaghetti are finished drain the water from the spaghetti and run cool in the spaghetti and drain. Set them aside.
• Heat a large skillet on medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the carrots and saute until tender remove the carrots from the pan and placed them in a bowl or plate. add the broccoli (no need to add more oil) saute until tender and remove from the pan and on the same place as the carrots.  
• Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the same pan and add celery when they saute for awhile then add the bell peppers, onions. Remove from the pan add 2 more tablespoon of olive oil and toss in the the mushrooms. Reduce your heat so the mushroom don't burn saute until tender, remove the mushroom from the pan and on the same plate.
• Add the sesame oil if using or add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan add the ginger and garlic sauté for 1 minute add the tomato paste cook for 1 minute, add the tomato stir and let cook for a minute or two. Add the tamari sauce, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce salt, and the spices.
• Add the spaghetti add a little bit of water stir and add all the vegetables stir and make sure its well blended and voila!       

Tips: 

• To know if the carrots are cooked a fork should pass through without breaking the carrots in parts
• For the spaghetti, run the back of a fork on the spaghetti and it should break in parts
• the tomato paste and tomato should not taste sour at all. If they do then they are not fully cooked allow sometime to cook.

Bon appetit!