Since she has not only moved OUT, but to another state, I'm feeling bad that I won't be be able to cook any of her favorite foods for her. Man, when she comes home for a visit, though...the brother and the husband can hardly wait, I can tell you. Because not only are they HER favorites, they are THEIR favorites as well. Home cooking is comfort food. That's all there is to it.
In an effort to help my daughter not feel so discombobulated (that IS a word, I know it is) I've decided to post the recipes of the Reagan family's favorite foods. They will be available for EVERYONE because....they are delicious!
This first blog will be the REAGAN FAMILY FAVORITE SPAGHETTI! This is one that the little brother (who actually stayed in the kitchen and learned to cook) can make from scratch. He really makes it better than I do.
Ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef or chuck
1 medium onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
2 T. Extra Virgin olive oil
1 medium jar Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce
1-15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
Dried herbs--oregano, basil and thyme
Garlic powder (I like a lot of garlic flavor)
2 T. sugar
1-16 oz pkg of spaghetti noodles
First a little bit about the ingredients. Remember this is for people who don't cook all the time. Ground beef or chuck are fine for this recipe. There is no use going to ground sirloin or anything too expensive. You do want to stay away from ground beef that is too fatty, though. You can use jarred garlic if you don't want to mince or chop. It works perfectly fine. If you do use it, though, I would add a bit more as the taste seems a bit weeny to me. The Prego spaghetti sauce works for me, but you can use whatever you want. Buy store brand tomato sauce and paste. They work perfectly fine. Now for the how-to.
1. Fill a huge pot with water. This is one of those big pasta pots or even a Dutch oven. Set an eye of the stove to high and put the pot on it. Heat to boiling. Add 3 T. salt and then add your dried pasta. Make sure all the pasta gets separated or you'll just have a pasta plank....hahaha. Turn the pot down to medium or so and let the noodles boil. Just watch it to make sure it doesn't boil over.
2. While the water is trying to boil, chop your onion in small pieces. There are many methods for this and if you didn't learn how...watch your fingers. Go ahead and mince your garlic as well, assuming you are not using the jarred variety. Keep the garlic for later.
3. Pour the olive oil into a large pan with a lid and turn the heat up to medium-high to begin heating it. Be sure to watch it because the oil will burn. If it begins to smoke, TAKE IT OFF THE EYE! Once the oil begins to ripple a little, add the onion and cook it until its translucent.
4. Now, add the ground beef to the onion, breaking it up so it will cook faster. Keep stirring the onion/beef up until there isn't any pink left in the meat. Chances are you'll end up with some grease in the pan. This happens no matter what kind of beef you use.
5. Take the pan off the eye so it doesn't cook any more. (You might want to turn the eye off so you don't forget and put something on it.) Start getting the tap water hot. Once it gets really hot, put a colander into the sink and pour the ground beef into it. Rinse the pot out with the hot tap water and rinse the beef off as well. Be sure to keep the hot water running so as to rinse the grease down the drain. (After you put the meat back into the pot, put some sink detergent down the drain and keep the hot water running after it. This will help keep the drain from clogging.)
6. Put the drained beef back into the pot and turn the eye back up to medium-high. Clear a small space on the bottom of the pot and add your minced garlic. As soon as you smell the delicious aroma of garlic, begin to add the liquids...Prego, tomato sauce and tomato paste...to the ground beef mixture. Add 1 tsp. each dried oregano, thyme and basil. Be sure to crush it in the palm of your hand before adding to the meat. This brings out the flavor of the dried herbs. (You can also just use a dried herb called Italian seasoning. It has a few other things in it, but it works fine.)
7. Add the sugar to the mixture and stir everything up together. Put the lid on the pot and turn it down to low or medium low. Just watch it to make sure it's 1) bubbling a little and 2) not burning. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
8. Drain your pasta and serve by pouring the meat sauce over the noodles. Add a little parmesan cheese and Enjoy!
Feeds 4 with sauce left over.....much better the next day.
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