Freaky Food Friday - SPAGHETTI

Hello my lovely foodies!

This week, my Friday spiel is on SPAGHETTI.  I don't mean just the typical spaghetti noodles and sauce.  Any noodle with a tomato based sauce, in our house at least, is called SPAGHETTI.  I've eaten a lot of this over the last few months and I've learned several ways to liven it up.  So I thought I'd share.


Vegetable Medley Spaghetti
1 can/jar plain spaghetti sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 package frozen stir fry vegetables (our fav is either the asparagus blend or the broccoli blend)
2 cans mushrooms
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
1 package spaghetti, angel hair, or linguini noodles

Cook pasta as directed.  Drain pasta.  Take all the other ingredients and dump them together in a big pot.  Cook on medium heat until veggies are hot all the way through and sauce is a little bubbly.  Mix pasta and sauce in the large pot.  Serve.  (You can also serve pasta and sauce separately.  We just dump it all together.)


Spaghetti with meat sauce
1 can/jar plain spaghetti sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 lb. ground beef, italian sausage, or chopped beef, browned
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
1 package pasta, cooked & drained

Brown the meat with the herbs and spices.  Drain the meat.  Heat up the sauce and toss in your tomatoes.  Wait until bubbly and then add the meat.  Mix the pasta and sauce together, or serve separately - all based on your tastes.


Spaghetti, realistically, is another one of those meals that has infinite potential when you're living on a budget.  Substitute chunks of sausage or ham and you've got a smokier flavor for your sauce.  Don't like meat?  Don't use it.  Don't like frozen stir fry veggies?  You can use fresh or frozen whatever you like.  How you dress up spaghetti sauce is all up to you and the tastes of those who are going to be eating it.