Best Yet Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti is comfort food for me which is a little weird because I didn't grow up eating it, but somehow a heaping serving of hot spaghetti is almost therapeutic.  I've tried a few spaghetti sauce recipes but none of them were quite right until I found this one from Table for Two.  It's plain and simple, but to the point.  I didn't want a hot pot of sauce simmering on the stove for half the day so I let it simmer in my crockpot and it turned out delicious.

{ Best Yet Spaghetti Sauce }

Recipe from Table for Two

1 lb. 80/20 ground beef

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

6 oz. water

1 24 oz. jar tomato puree

5-6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Pinch of dried oregano

Pinch of onion powder

Pinch of garlic powder

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large stockpot, saute garlic until soft and fragrant in 2 tbsp. of olive oil, about 2 minutes.

Throw your meat in with the garlic and brown until meat has been thoroughly cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Pour in the tomato paste, tomato puree, and seasoning, including the fresh basil.

Stir to mix well. With the 6 oz. can from the tomato paste, fill that with water and pour it in the stockpot as well.

Let mixture simmer, uncovered, for 2 or more hours (the longer the better, but minimum 2 hours), stirring occasionally.

Serve hot over fresh pasta.

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

Butter.  Butter.  Butter.  If I let go of my self control, I would consume butter at lightening speed.  Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  You can count on it.  But then I can also foresee the near future of that irresponsible me laying under a tombstone with the words "butter overdose" written on it.  Sometimes images like that motivate me to eat healthy.  But every once in a while I still cook with butter.  By the stick.  And this is one of those recipes.  The original recipe calls for one whole stick of butter but I think that 6 Tbsp will do the work just fine.

{ Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce }

Adapted from allrecipes.com

6 Tbsp butter

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 1/3 cups milk

4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Melt butter in a non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic, stir with a whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out any lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.

Tortellini with Spinach Tomato Sauce

Did you know that if you view my blog on Safari that the pictures will look a hundred times better?  I don't know why.  Jake tried to explain it to me one time but all the technical words seemed to have gotten all jumbled up together and I don't quite understand it.  So I'll just credit Apple's ingenious engineering and design.

This week marks the sixth anniversary of Jake and I being together.  I can't believe that we started dating six years ago!  I sometimes like to read through old emails between Jake and me and I always laugh out loud when I read the very first email he has ever sent me.  It goes like this...

Right now I am sitting across from you in the library [...] I want to tell you that [...] I am glad that you are my friend.  I know you will do well on your economy tests.  Just study hard and don't worry too much.  I'm praying for you.  Talk to you later.

Hahahahaha!  I hope you're laughing as well.  He was a goofball, but I'm glad that I married him because a lot of wonderful things would never have come into my life if I didn't.  Ethan would be one of those; this recipe would be another :)  This is rather easy and quick to make.  Nothing fancy.  The original recipe calls for one cup of chopped spinach.  I followed the recipe when we made this the first time and you had to use a microscope to find the poor shrunken spinach.  Since Jake and I both really enjoy spinach I usually just pour a whole package of baby spinach (you can find it in the packaged salad section in the store) into the the saucepan.

{ Tortellini with Spinach Tomato Sauce }

Adapted from allrecipe.com

1 (16 ounce) package cheese tortellini

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion

5 cups chopped fresh spinach

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the tortellini, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

While you get the tortellini going, combine the tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, basil and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture begins to bubble.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, milk and cream. Stir this mixture into the saucepan along with the Parmesan cheese. Heat through, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until thick, about 2 minutes.

Drain the tortellini, but do not rinse, then pour them into the saucepan with the sauce. Stir to coat, and serve.

Bowtie and Asparagus in Cream Sauce

It has been a while since I posted a recipe hasn't it?  Well, it's been a while since I worked in my own kitchen!  Just thinking about this pasta makes my belly growl.  It was so good.  How can it not be yummy with a whole stick of butter in the sauce?  Instead of chicken bouillon cubes, I used my Chinese chicken powder and it was just fine.  I also threw in a bag of cooked crumbled bacon I grabbed at the store instead of cooking my own bacon.  Do I sound like a lazy cook or what?  I preferred to be called efficient or labor-saving thank you very much.

{ Bowtie and Asparagus in Cream Sauce }

From Favorite Family Recipes

1 package bow tie pasta
1/2 cup real butter
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1-2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 pint heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

10-15 spears asparagus, blanched

1/2 cup bacon, crumbled

1/2 cup toasted pinenuts

Parsley, to taste

Parmesan cheese, to taste

Boil bow tie pasta in salted water until al dente.

In a heavy skillet melt butter. Add minced garlic and sauté for a minute or so.

Add Parmesan Cheese and bouillon cubes. When the bouillon cubes are dissolved, slowly stir in heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Add cooked pasta to cream sauce and toss until pasta is well covered. Add blanched asparagus. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, toasted pinenuts, parsley & Parmesan cheese and toss together. Serve immediately.

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

I first learned about Orzo because Jake came home from school one day and told me that his professor's wife made orzo for dinner the night before.  So random.  I swear you learn the most interesting and random things about your professors in college just by attending lectures.  There's this one time when a phone started ringing in the middle of lecture in my finance class.  My 78-year-old professor froze, made a face, took out the ringing phone from his pocket and answered the call.  His phone was a hot pink razor.  The whole class just about died.  But I digress...

Remember the basil plant I was telling you about a couple days ago?  This is the second recipe I made with my fresh basil leaves from my very own basil plant that is still very much alive may I add.  This is a very yummy dish.  Jake calls it the high-class rice-a-roni.  I personally think that it is so much better than rice-a-roni.  It's creamy, smooth, and fresh-tasting.  You can pair it with some grilled chicken, ribs, or a vegetable stir fry.  The possibilities are endless!

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

From allrecipes.com

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.

Stir in chicken stock and bring to boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Mix in Parmesan cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to shallow bowl. Garnish with basil sprigs.