Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Just had an easy dinner tonight, spaghetti with meat sauce; salad for Mom and Dad and green beans and applesauce for the boys. No real recipe, just browned some ground beef and some chopped onion then added jarred marinara and simmered for 15 minutes or so. Served over pasta with Parmesan cheese. Salad was dressed with a simple vinaigrette of red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Spaghetti — my favorite meal. From time to time I resort to a jar of maranira (usually Trade Joe’s); however, I find it just as easy to open a couple of cans of crushed tomatoes in sauce and a can of tomato sauce to which I add fresh (all easily grown in my yard) rosemary, oregno and basil (or 2 TBSP of dried Italian seasoning) along with a TBS of sugar to cut the acid and salt to taste. I also put garlic in the pan when browing the meat. It only takes about half an hour more. YUM. xxxooo Mom
I actually made marinara sauce last night, as I’m doing Weight Watchers, and the jarred stuff has more calories (and points) than I wanted to use. I cooked some onions in a Tbs. or so of olive oil, added about 8 fresh diced roma and vine tomatoes, salt and pepper, and let that cook down. Once the tomatoes were softened, I added one can of plain tomato sauce, 1/2 small can of tomato paste, and then fresh herbs (basil, thyme, and oregano), and a Tbs. of sugar. Then I added a cup of chopped mushrooms (I chop them small because my husband doesn’t like them, but I like the flavor they add), about a Tbs. of capers, and 4-5 chopped kalamata olives. I let it simmer and thicken for a while. Last night I added in some browned and sliced fresh turkey sausage from Henry’s and served it over “Dreamland” rigatoni pasta. It is low carb, so less calories, but you can’t taste the difference. 🙂 I thought it was delicious, and I know everything that went into it.
Little Sis
Awesome. I really like a tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes. Mom also left a recipe for her marinara sauce. I make my own sometimes, but usually when I’m trying to get dinner on the table, I rely on the ease of Trader Joe’s jarred sauce. I’ll try your recipe and let you know how the boys liked it. Thanks for the comment! xoxox