Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Usually when we have spaghetti, it's a matter of warming up some Prego and cooking noodles. This time, I hadn't planned anything for dinner (or forgot to thaw something) and we were out of Prego. So, I went to my handy-dandy BH&G cookbook to find a recipe for sauce utilizing things we had. And here you have it, the first homemade spaghetti sauce I've ever done:

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

1 c chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.25 lb ground beef

1 tbsp cooking oil
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/3 c water
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley

1 tbsp snipped fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 oz dried spaghetti
Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a Dutch oven or large skillet cook onion, garlic and ground beef in hot oil until meat is brown. Drain. (I decided not to drain this time since the beef was pretty lean anyway).

Stir in the tomato, tomato paste, water, parsley, herbs, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.

 

Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more or to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Serve sauce over hot cooked pasta. If desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

I was nervous about this, but it was yummy! And easy! And (fairly) fast! And cheap!

Rodney and I are both Prego fans with the "why mess with something that's not broken" mentality. If you keep an eye out, you can get 28-oz jars 4/$5; we load up on them at those times. Well, no more hunting for a good deal on Prego. While this sauce wasn't as zingy-sweet as Prego, it was good. I've had some crap sauces that actually made me gag. Fortunately, this was anything but gag-inducing!

As I said, it was easy. The hardest part was to decide whether or not I should risk making "my own" sauce from essentially scratch.

Time to get dinner on the table was about 1.25 hours. Most of that time was spent waiting for things to boil or simmer.

Cheap? You kiddin'? We already had the stuff! Granted, there were a couple of items in the original recipe we didn't have and I simply omitted them (like celery -- gross!). The sauce was still good! Plus there was enough sauce for each of us at dinner, lunch for me the following day AND some more to freeze -- enough more to fill one of the empty 28-oz Prego jars I had around. So next time I want spaghetti, I just have to remember to let the sauce thaw, warm it, cook up some noodles and dinner's done.

I think sometime I should post on what items I keep in the pantry/freezer/fridge regularly just so you know what I constantly say I "keep on hand". And maybe I'll include the prices there. Certainly there is a cost to keeping these, but as you can see, it is worth it. Sometimes you can make a meal just from the basics.

If I had to guess, based on the estimated cost per unit price, I'd say $4. For 5 meals. 80 cents a serving -- including the noodles. Ok, maybe $6 or $1.20 per serving if you include gobs of cheese.

Definitely gonna do this again.

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My nephew, who was 4 years old last year, spent a night or two about every couple months.  I put him to the task of helping me make dinner the first time he was over and now Kaner is disappointed if he doesn't have the opportunity to help, especially when it comes to this meat sauce.  This meat sauce is what I started him on helping me with and he insists we have spaghetti every time he's over. 

I prepare the onions, garlic and beef.  Once it's draining and the stove-top is cool, Kane helps me make the sauce by pouring the tomatoes, sauce and water into a cold, large skillet and stirring everything together.  I'll measure and add the spices while he stirs them in.  Later in the year, I measured the spices into a small bowl and Kane sprinkled it into the tomato mixture.  Occasionally, Kane'll say that it needs more of one spice, particularly pepper just so he can crank the grinder, and certainly, he'll attempt to give it a couple cranks. When he's finished he'll say, "that's good" and continue stirring.  

After the beef drains, rather Kane is finished putting the final touches on the spices, I pour it in and Kane stirs the beef in as well.  At that point, he has "made" dinner and simply waits for me to complete the cooking process.  He's allowed to watch me as I manipulate the heat on the stove-top, but knows it's hands-off for him because it's HOT! 

When it's finally done, Kane puts away "his" spaghetti and sauce as if it's his last meal.     

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