Sausage & Spinach Spaghetti, A Staple

Three days have gone by since a new meal has been made, I figured I'd go for broke and add a fourth day. Why not, right?

After three days of eating during travel, there is nothing better than coming home to a favorite cooked meal. Italian sausage and spinach (and sometimes canned mushroom) spaghetti fits the bill. It is easy to make, filling, and appeases all table counterparts. The sauce is usually a garlic red pepper marinara style, the noodles are always regular thickness, good old white noodles, and there is always a meat. Nothing whole wheat, nothing fancy, nothing but the staples.

Ingredients:
One box spaghetti
Three links of Italian sausage (two spicy and one regular or two spicy and one sweet is preferred)
Tablespoon of butter
Half yellow onion, diced
Tablespoon garlic, minced
Teaspoon of basil, marjoram
1/3 bag frozen spinach
24 oz garlic & red pepper pasta sauce
Red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper
Shredded Parm

Instructions:
To large dutch oven, add sausages removed from casings and brown until almost crispy. Drain on towel. Wipe out grease. Add butter and onions and cook until translucent scrapping meat bits off bottom. Add garlic, basil, marjoram, spinach and cook until spinach is dry. Add sauce and sausage back, cook for 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings (red pepper, salt, pepper) to taste.

Boil pasta in heavily salted water to al dente. Drain well, set aside.

When sauce is ready, add pasta and toss till well coated.

Scaled for Likability: Great
If I could eat burgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, then the table counterpart could eat spaghetti for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Worse, it doesn't even have to the this most fantastic spaghetti, it could literally be regular spaghetti noodles and a jar sauce. No additives, no frills, no fuss. Whatever, to each their own.

This spaghetti is still the best and when a table counterpart asks for spaghetti this is what is being requested. When I say we are having a new spaghetti this bar to exceed. It is the best of the best.

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green be

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add potatoes. Cover and reduc

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese and did not contain enough onion, garlic,

Eating Waffles

Search This Blog