Doctoring the Sauce

I know, I promised waffles.  I’m working out some picture glitches.  Here’s a teaser on how to doctor your sauce.

Growing up, a jar of spaghetti sauce was gourmet.  No doctoring, but Italian to our German family.

Then, my sister married into an Italian family and I learned how sauce should taste!  (thanks Vincie!)

Then I met my BFF, Jodi, and learned how to make real sauce!! (Thanks Dottie!)

Unfortunately, there are times when there is not enough time to make sauce.  I’ll post again on how to make sauce and freeze it for future use, but this will do in a pinch for any family.

So, if you’ve ever had a half used jar of spaghetti sauce in your fridge, this is the idea for you.  Here’s a way to make it into a husband pleaser.

(Of course, you could just buy a jar of sauce and “doctor it” to make a quick and easy dinner)

Doctored Sauce

Ingredients:

2 TB Olive Oil

Small white onion chopped into small pieces (this is key – do not use yellow if you already have the sauce – it will make it too sweet.)

A few tomatoes chopped (brightens the sauce – I used 2 small ones from our kitchen stoop garden)

Other veggies chopped or shredded (I used some sweet peppers from the stoop, but I think carrots could be interesting.  You’ll need something that gets mushy so it incorporates well.  If you go with carrots, go with the shredded salad kind)

1 Lb of meat (I used ground chuck, but ground anything would work.  Sausage would be sassy.  No meat works too if you’re looking for a light meal for the evening)

Half a jar of spaghetti sauce (ours was Prego, but probably because that was what was on sale that day at the grocery)

Garlic salt or powder (I know, how fake, right?  But, if you’re not a regular cook, you can do real damage with real garlic.  If you’re good at cooking garlic, go for it)

Directions:

1) Warm up your sauce pan.  Add in the olive oil.

2) Add in the onions and cook until translucent.  You can use frozen onions if you want, but it will take longer to cook because you’ll need to sweat off all of the moisture first.

3 )Add real garlic at this time.  If you’re using powder or salt – wait until it’s all in the pot and season to taste.

4) Add in the tomatoes and veggies – cook until very soft.

5) Add in meat and cook until cooked through.

TIP : For the best sauce – use a potato masher or spatula, whatever, but really break up the meat and mush the veggies well for a perfectly integrated sauce

6) Add in your sauce.

STIR.  STIR,  STIR.

TASTE – Add in garlic salt or powder.  Maybe some black pepper or red pepper flakes if you’d like some heat.

Pour over al dente pasta.  Add parmesan or romano cheese.  Kids will like the parmesan better.  It’s less sharp.

Mangia!

For Dee Dee

My mom always encouraged me to be a writer.  The Christmas before her death, she told me that she was really upset when I went to college for business instead of journalism.  Once in my life, I liked to write stuff for fun.  She loved to read it.  And she had wished I would have used that talent a little bit more often.

Since at the time of her death, I was really only writing one page reports with no full sentences, just bullet points, she probably had a point.

Then comes the blog-splosion.  Interesting concept.  Maybe I’ll start one.

Then comes the self-righteous proverbial 31 woman genre and I vow not to write a blog.  EVER.

Then I admit I started feeling like maybe a blog would be fun and I started to think of what to write about.

I have friends that write blogs – serious blogs about their struggles, helpful blogs about child rearing or meal planning, informative blogs about travel.  None of those would do for me.

SO, here’s my premise – simple living.  I’m no master for sure, but I figured I could document my “journey” and some tips I learn along the way.

I’m going to start with cooking and maybe just stay with cooking.  It would keep the blog theme SIMPLE.  Get it?

Stay tuned for a post on waffles.  With bisquick.  But, I promise, no WD40 or duct tape.