Spaghetti Dinner

By bklynmommy

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 cans (8 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp dried minced onions
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp dried minced garlic
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 Tbsp Italian seasoning.

Details

Adapted from homeskills101.com

Preparation

Step 1

Begin by mixing all the dry ingredients in a small bowl. This mixture can be put into a Ziploc bag if you want to make a few of these for future use for quick and easy suppers.

In a saucepan mix tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. Add spice mix. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to about medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir often but not continuously. If you like it a bit thicker you can add more cornstarch. Mix about 1 Tbsp with a little water to form a slurry. Add to sauce mixture and stir.

If you are using ground beef, while the pasta sauce is cooking brown the ground beef in a frying pan. Add the sauce to the ground beef

In a large stockpot or the largest pot you have, fill with water. Leave a few inches at the top so the water has room to boil. Pasta gets sticky when there is not enough water so make sure you have plenty. Bring to a rolling boil. Not just a few bubbles but a rolling - can’t make it stop with stirring – boil. Add a tsp of salt to the water. Salt adds flavor to the pasta. Use about 1/4 pound of pasta per person.

Do not add oil to the water. Oil makes the pasta slick and then the sauce won’t properly adhere to the pasta.

Add pasta slowly to the boiling water. Try not to let it stop boiling. Once all the pasta is submerged begin timing it. Timing recommendations are usually on the package. Be sure to test periodically. Good pasta should be al dente which is “to the teeth” in Italian. It means soft but with a little bit of resistance to your teeth. Overcooked pasta is mushy and not very appetizing. If it will be more than a minute or so until you are ready to eat you can undercook the pasta slightly. Hot pasta will continue to cook until it’s cool.

Once it is cooked strain it quickly.