Not much to say tonight, I’m hunkered down with an under-the-weather Dane at the moment. He had his annual shots today and they’re not agreeing with him. We were in the middle of a play date this afternoon and he just quit and has been asleep ever since. “Far from the Madding Crowd” is on the menu for tonight has bored me completely, so I had to turn it off. I’m also keeping an eye on the Cubs game tonight, since the Red Sox and Rockies’ seasons are over. I do love an underdog. Meanwhile, as I search for something else to entertain, here is tonight’s recipe exchange:
I did not step in my kitchen this week, except to put together a salad or reheat some (homemade) soup. Allergies, pets, friends and work ate away all my time and energy. So for tonight I went into the archives and combined a couple of exchanges to come up with tonight’s recipes.
Let’s start out with JeffreyW’s Awesome Sauce (recipe here) because, well, it’s awesome.
Want something a little simpler and quicker? How about his San Marzano Sauce, click here.
And his Shrimp & Pasta Formaggio (here) is a quick and easy alternative to red sauce.
When everything is in season, I like to make my sauce with fresh ingredients, so I have a Garden Fresh Pasta Sauce (recipe here) that’s lighter and fresher than tonight’s featured recipe.
If you like meatballs with your favorite sauce, my favorite recipe (pictured above) is here and also at that link are several other styles of meatballs from JeffreyW, so you should find something you like.
When it comes to pastas, I favor two options, a nice spiral (fusilli or rotini) or a quick cooking Angel Hair (capellini), but if I can get it fresh from the farmer’s market, I’ll take what I can get, which is usually a linguine. It’s all tasty.
Now sauces can be risky and start a great debate, because every family has their version. So hit the comments with your favorite pasta sauce recipe, and for that matter, pastas, because there are so many choices. Like many things, I’m not all that concerned about the right pasta for the right sauce, I say, use what you enjoy and ignore the purists.
Food should be fun. For that matter, so should wine, beer and scotch. What’s on your plate this weekend?
For the featured recipe, I went with my traditional family sauce, the one I grew up with, but with a few tweaks. Now, even in my family, half of which are Italian, even the most basic sauce has as many different variations as there are cooks, so this is just a place to start, add your own touches to make it your family tradition. This is a hearty sauce and my go-to in the colder months when fresh ingredients are not readily available. I always double this and freeze half for a later dinner.
Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce
- 9 – 12 oz pasta of choice (I like angel hair for this recipe)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 tsp. crushed garlic
- 1 lb lean ground beef (or 1/2 beef and 1/2 spicy Italian sausage)
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 3 tomatoes, diced (or 14 oz can diced tomatoes)
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 3 tsp dried basil, crushed*
- 2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
- 1 tsp rosemary, crushed
- 1 carrot, finely grated or 1/2 tsp sugar (these reduce the acidity of the sauce and bring out the spices – trust me on this one – I prefer the carrot, myself.)
- Salt & pepper to taste
- red pepper flakes (opt) to taste
- grated Parmesan cheese
2 saucepans and large skillet
In skillet, heat oil, sauté pepper, onion, garlic. Add hamburger and cook thoroughly. Add tomato paste and 1 tsp ea of crushed basil, oregano and rosemary, mix well. In saucepan, add remaining ingredients and bring to a low boil, reduce heat, add meat mixture and let simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
Cook pasta according to directions, drain well and serve with sauce and Parmesan cheese.
*CRUSHING Spices – when using dry spices, to get the best flavor, you should crush them, either by rubbing them in your hand or using a mortar and pestle before adding them to a recipe.
For the full menu that I created for this recipe, click here for menu, recipes and shopping list.
That’s it for this week. I’m thinking apples next week. Have a great weekend – TaMara
Friday Recipe Exchange: Some Sauces for PastaPost + Comments (26)