Who Doesn't Like Spaghetti?!

 

Today is Day One of my cooking blog and I'm so excited to get started! If you're like me, you search and search for recipes to cook for your family, something different. It gets so boring cooking the same old thing from week to week so I've decided to change that. :) Throughout this duration of this blog I will be cooking recipes that I have cooked in my own kitchen and loved. I also have a two year old little boy and his tastes are quite picky. The recipes I will share will be from numerous places but with a little personalization and trial and error to make them healthier and more appealing to my little family. I hope you enjoy my blog as well as the recipes. Let's get started! Today I made spaghetti with homemade Italian meat sauce and trust me it's not as hard as it sounds and so worth it but it does need to simmer for at least 2 hrs so plan ahead. This recipe makes about 6 large servings.
Italian Meat Sauce

• 1 lb. ground beef (no less than 80/20)
• 2- 16oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1- 6oz can of tomato paste
• Palm full of Basil (you can use fresh if you have it, but the dried works just as well)
• Palm full of Garlic
• Powder Palm full of Onion Powder
• 4 tbsp. Minced Garlic (you can mince your own, but I like to use the kind that's already minced in a jar)
• 1 tbsp. Sugar
• 1 lb. Macaroni Noodles (you can use any kind of noodle you prefer, but my son can pick up the macaroni better)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Let's get cooking

1. Step 1 Place 4tbsp of minced garlic in 1 tsp of vegetable oil in a skillet, let the garlic get warm but not overcooked (about 2min)
2. Step 2 Put your ground hamburger into the skillet along with salt and pepper, brown (about 6 min)
3. Step 3 If you have a lot of grease from your burger in the skillet, drain some, but not all, of it. Now add in your tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil. Stir to blend.
4. Step 4 Turn heat down until sauce is merely simmering and let it simmer (lid off) for no less than 2 hrs (the longer it simmers, the better it is)
5. Step 5 When you put your noodles in to cook (add oil and salt to your water to keep them from sticking together), add 1tbsp of sugar to the sauce and stir. After the noodles are cooked, drain them and add the sauce. Enjoy! It sounds crazy to let sauce simmer for 2hrs but it is so worth it. I've found that I just put it on in the morning and go about my day until dinnertime. My entire family loves this sauce! And you can make extra and freeze if you want.

Tip of the day: I only use wooden spoons so there's no metallic taste in the sauce.
“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.” ― Julia Child