Spaghetti with lots of Vegetables

Recipe Name: Spaghetti with lots of Vegetables

Story: This recipe was a way to have my son's eat a variety of vegetables.  When they were very young they loved it, but then they started going to other people's houses and thought our spaghetti was "weird."  Into their teenage years, friends would come over and request my spaghetti, now it was back on the popularity list.

Years you've been making it: For at least 30 years, since roughly 1990

Author / Creator: Suzy

Submitted by: Suzy

Ingredients:
1 onion
1 pepper (usually I would use 1/2 of green and 1/2 of another color, yellow, orange, or red)
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium zucchini
1-2 small yellow squash
1 8 oz package of sliced mushrooms
Olive oil
Spices:  red pepper flakes, oregano, cayenne, basil, salt and pepper
2 jars of tomato sauce or homemade sauce
1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar. (this cuts the acid of the tomatoes, but you do not want to make it sweet)

Directions:
Sautee onion, peppers, and garlic in about 2 Tbs of olive oil, until onions are slightly translucent.  Add zucchini, yellow squash, and mushroom.  Continue sauteing for another 2-3 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, spices, and sugar.  Simmer for about 30-40 minutes.

Even if I use commercial sauce I will add some additional spices, pinch of red pepper flakes, oregano, if you like it a little spicy add a pinch of cayenne.  Salt and pepper to taste.

In the last 10 minutes of simmering add fresh basil.

Notes:

If you "need" meat or more protein, browned and drained hamburger meat or sausage, or cooked and shredded chicken can be added at the same time as the tomato sauce.