Cajun Night

Although I doubt many Cajuns eat a lot of pasta. At any rate, this recipe is called Cajun Chicken Pasta. I found it from the Pioneer Woman's website. I don't even remember what I was looking for on her site, but I stumbled across this. I never say "no" to a good pasta dinner, so I made this.

I don't know if there was something in the water last weekend, but I swear, my cooking kind of sucked. My cornbread topping didn't turn out (see last post) and when I was making this recipe, my cream sauce never thickened. Oh well. You can't win 'em all!

I have never made a recipe from the Pioneer Woman before, but I plan on making more! This pasta was really good. Even better? Eat it warmed up the next day. Both my husband and I agreed that it was better the next day.

I did a couple of things differently from the recipe. First, I didn't cook the chicken in batches. I have a huge pan so I decided to just cook it all at once. It was much easier for me this way. Also, I didn't have white wine, so I just used a bit extra of the chicken broth. I also made my own Cajun seasoning. It was very simple. Salt, pepper, paprika and some other seasonings. I used more than what the recipe called for since we love things spicy in our house. I am glad I used more too. There was the perfect amount of heat on the veggies and chicken.

This recipe was more time consuming than I am used to these days. That is not to say that it would be time consuming for you. After all, I purposely look for recipes that take less than 30 minutes because I am usually watching the wee one. I need simple. This was simple for sure. It only took a little bit longer than my regulation 30 minutes. It was very much worth it though!

I love pasta so I am glad I found something that had protein to make the husband happy, tomatoes and pasta to make me happy, and spicy to make both of us happy!

Cajun Chicken Pasta
from: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/cajun-chicken-pasta/

3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
3 teaspoons Cajun spice mix
1 pound fettuccine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 whole green pepper, seeded and sliced
1 whole red pepper, seeded and sliced
1/2 large red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 whole Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
cayenne pepper to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley, to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta when it's al dente. Do not overcook!

2. Sprinkle 1.5 teaspoons of the Cajun spice mix over the chicken. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.

3. Add remaining butter and olive oil. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from pan.

4. With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high 3-5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in the cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground pepper and cayenne pepper and/or salt and pepper to taste. Sauce should be spicy!

5. Finally, add the chicken and vegetables to the sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly and hot. Add the drained pasta and toss to combine. Top with the parsley.

Spaghetti With a Twist

Based on my prior posts, I am sure it is obvious just how much I love two things: Pasta and tomatoes. And I know that this little boy growing in me takes after his mom. He loves pasta too. Every time I eat pasta or anything sweet, he goes nuts! He kicks and moves and lets me know that he loves my dinner. That isn't the subject of this post though. I haven't had good luck finding new recipes from Cooking Light these past few issues, however, the month of December was a veritable gold mine! I think I pulled out at least a dozen recipes that I want to make. This is one of them.

I like this recipe for a number of reasons:

1. It was easy to make. Case in point, I made it on a weeknight (which I hardly ever do), and the tag in the magazine said this was a 30 minute recipe.

2. It took pantry staples that I had on hand: Olives, capers, pasta, marinara sauce and spices.

3. It was a different twist on spaghetti. Don't get me wrong, I could eat plain pasta with plain tomato sauce every day of the week. However, it was nice to try something new.

4. Jason liked it! He eats my pasta with a smile even though I know half the time he is a little annoyed. He does not share my love of pasta.

Cooking Light has gained my love back. Not that I ever lost my love for them. I just needed a kick start to find a new recipe. This was very easy and I love the fact that it's light. A serving of a cup of pasta and 3/4 cup of the sauce was a mere 445 calories. That isn't bad! Pair this with a green salad and a glass of milk like I did and you will be full for several hours. I didn't feel a bit guilty eating this.

I don't keep sherry on hand, but I imagine red wine would probably be fine. I just used water since it called for only 1/4 cup. That and the saffron, which is optional anyways, are the two ingredients that I didn't have on hand. I added about double of the red pepper since we like things spicy in our household. The results were a very nice spiced pasta kick.

Try this recipe! It's very very good. I have been eating the leftovers as well. They are just as tasty reheated.

Spanish Spaghetti with Olives
from: Cooking Light December 2009

8 ounces thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups choppen onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed saffron threads (optional)
8 ounces extra-lean ground beef
1 2/3 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup sliced pimento stuffed olives
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon capers
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; saute 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Stir in oregano, celery salt, red pepper, black pepper and saffron. Crumble beef into pan; cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in marinara sauce, olives, sherry, capers, and 3 tablespoons parsley. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Add spaghetti to sauce mixture. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Fancy Macaroni and Cheese

This is neither macaroni and cheese nor is it "fancy", however, that is what my husband called it, so there you have it. It will now forever be referred to as Fancy Macaroni and Cheese.

This is a recipe off the Food Network. It's from Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. I can remember watching the episode when she made this. It had to have been three or four years ago. Honestly though, I doubt that lady eats any of this because she's so darn skinny! And judging by the ingredients in this, you would have to have some meat on your bones.

Just looking at the picture makes me wonder how anyone can stay skinny while eating this?

However, I should point out that there are ways of making it lighter should you feel the need. Don't use as much butter as it calls for, use lean ham instead of the proscuitto, use fat-free or 1% milk rather than the whole milk. You catch my drift. Plus, you can always eat a smaller serving (surrrrre, try that, I dare you.) if you don't want to feel guilty.

This recipe's base is a bechamel sauce, which is generally a roux with a little cheese added. If you don't know what a roux is, it's butter and flour with some milk to make a white sauce. I recently made another macaroni and cheese recipe using a roux. It's not a hard task to accomplish. Knowing how to make a roux will give you the baseline to make pretty much any mac and cheese you want. The cheese is a fontina, which is delicious! It isn't your typical cheddar which many macaroni and cheese dishes use. See? Look at all these concepts that prove that this is not macaroni and cheese! Plus, it uses rigatoni pasta and not elbows.

The only downside to making this is having patience to wait for the milk to thicken. Honestly, considering how easy the rest of the recipe is, waiting 10 minutes is no big deal. And hopefully you have an easier time julienne'ing (is that a word?) the prosciutto. Mine looked like a pile o' ham rather than neat strips. It worked out in the end. I just broke it up as it went into the pan.

Enjoy! This is creamy, rich and delicious! It isn't too bad heated up the next day as lunch leftovers either.

Baked Rigatoni with Bechamel Sauce
from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/baked-rigatoni-with-bechamel-sauce-recipe2/index.html

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 quart whole milk at room temperature
pinch of nutmeg
sea salt and white pepper
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, julienned
1 pound rigatoni
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth (about 2 minutes). Always stirring, gradually add the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (10 minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in nutmeg, 1/2 cup cheese, prosciutto and season with salt and pepper; set aside.

2. In a large pot, boil water, add rigatoni and cook until al dente. Drain. Return pasta to the pot and pour in bechamel sauce. Mix well.

3. Pour into a greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Smooth out top and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup fontina. Dot the top with the diced butter and bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

I love that my picture looks pretty darn close to the one on the Food Network website. I must have done something right!

Lazy Lasagna

This recipe is titled Lazy because I didn't actually assemble this lasagna today. I actually put it all together yesterday morning. Which was nice for me because then all I had to do today was bake it. This recipe is great for people who are lazy. Or, can I recommend that you assemble this and bring it to some nice new mother? I can't imagine anything better than having someone show up at my door with lasagna in hand. All I would have to do is bake it! Hint, hint.

In my cooking extravaganza yesterday, I threw together........Well, not really threw. That would have gotten messy. It was very easy to assemble, which makes me wonder, why do a lot of people hem and haw when having to make lasagna? It really wasn't hard. Maybe because they have to boil the noodles which are a pain? They do make those no-boil noodles nowadays. Easy and cuts down on the prep time. Or maybe it's because they make their sauce from scratch? They do make fairly decent jarred sauces these days.

I am sure I have made lasagna before, but I honestly can't recall a time where I made a real from-scratch one. My husband was shocked to hear that I was going to attempt. Maybe he better taste it first to make sure it passes muster. Yes, I admit. I have baked a ready-made lasagna before in times of pure laziness. Heck, those Costco ones are pretty darn good!

Notice where this recipe came from? I think this cookbook has made more appearances in my blog than anything else. What can I say? Most of the things in it are very good. With maybe one or two exceptions. This was not one of the exceptions. Meaning, it was very very good! My husband had two servings. I had one and a half servings. The only thing I would do differently is use maybe 1/2 a pound of sausage next time. The ground beef was a little bland, even though I added some spices to it in the cooking process.

The cheese was perfectly melted. The noodles, even though you don't cook them prior, were cooked. That concept is really strange to me but whatever! Very tasty. No complaints here!

Here is the lovely lasagna before baking.

Lazy-Day Overnight Lasagna

from: Pillsbury One-Dish Meals Cookbook

1 pound ground beef or mild Italian sausage

1 jar (28 ounces) spaghetti sauce

1 cup water

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1 egg

8 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles

1 package (16 ounces) sliced mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain well. Add spaghetti sacue and water; blend well.

2. In medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, chives, oregano, and egg; mix well.

3. In ungreased 13x9 inch baking dish or lasagna pan, spread 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce. Top with 1/2 each of the uncooked noodles, ricotta cheese mixture and mozzarella cheese. Repeat with 1 1/2 cups meat sauce and remaining noodles, ricotta cheese and mozzarella. Top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover; refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover; bake 50 to 60 minutes or until noodles are tender and casserole is bubbly. Cover; let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Here is the lasagna after. Not a huge difference although the cheese is gooey and melted and starting to brown around the edges. Just the way I like it!

Angelic For Sure

This recipe is one that I picked up from someone on the Nest (thanks swmcat!). I am not sure why it took me so long to make, but I am glad I finally broke down and cooked it!

To me, the start of fall always reminds me of pumpkin candles, flavored coffee creamers and using my crockpot. Well, this recipe is definitely a crock pot one and it does remind me of fall. It's a heavier dish than something I would make in the summer. Don't get me wrong, it certainly can be made in the summer time.

Not only is this recipe easy, it's amazingly tasty! Angel Chicken indeed. It was angelic. The husband really liked it too and he's not a giant fan of pasta. How much easier can dump ingredients in crock pot and cover be? Of course, you still need to cook the pasta at the end, but it's angel hair. It doesn't take much more than 10 minutes to boil the water and cook the pasta.

If you are not a fan of mushrooms, the cream of mushroom soup can be substituted. You can always use cream of celery or cream of mushroom. If you don't have white wine, no problem! Use chicken stock or water. I didn't have any wine on hand, so I used the latter. If you aren't a fan of angel hair, substitute spaghetti or linguine. The possibilites are endless!

This will be a recipe that will get added to my repertoire. I liked it and Jason liked it. Plus, my cat liked it. She told us so when she licked our plates after dinner. Bravo Angel Chicken!

Angel Chicken

from: swmcat on the Nest

3 chicken breasts cut in half to make 6 small breasts

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 envelope (.7 oz) Italian dressing mix

1 can condensed mushroom soup

1/2 of an 8 oz. tub of onion and chive cream cheese

1/2 cup white wine or water

angel hair pasta

1. Put chicken in crockpot. In a saucepan, melt butter then stir in Italian dressing mix, soup, cream cheese, and wine. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Serve chicken and sauce over angel hair.

Pasta Night Two

Like I mentioned before, I have been on a pasta kick. Honestly, it's my go-to meal during the week. When my husband isn't home, it's easy to boil some noodles and heat up some sauce. Plus, the pastabilities are endless (bad joke, sorry). I often times stir in tuna, capers, kidney beans, various spices, cubed chicken, or vegetables. Obviously, I don't do all of those ingredients at once.

This very very easy. Trust me, I wouldn't make it if it wasn't. I mean, what could be easier than two steps? Plus, it's delicious and healthy. It's another of my Weight Watchers recipes. Even though I am not actively trying to lose weight, it can't hurt to eat healthier.

This is a good recipe for people that eat some meat, but not a lot (like me). My husband won't eat pasta unless there is some meat source in it or near it. I on the other hand, will eat any pasta, any way. This is a happy medium. It has some meat, but it's not the shining star. A little Canadian bacon goes a long way. Plus, the leftovers can be used for those tasty English muffin sandwiches.

This recipe takes pantry staples with the exception of the bacon. Honestly, you can leave out the bacon if you prefer to have a vegetarian meal. Canned tomatoes, onion and various spices are all this recipe needs. Serve it with a salad and some bread, and you have a very healthy meal. Okay, so leave out the bread.

I found out this dish is very good cold as well. I wasn't feeling so great one day and I had some of this pasta right out of the fridge. Who knew? My only suggestion is to up the red pepper flake contribution. We like our food spicy, so I almost tripled the amount I add it. Another trick I have learned is to smush it in your hand before adding. It releases the oils in the pepper. Hey, I saw it on the Food Network, therefore it must be true.

I better put pasta on the grocery list, because Lord knows I eat enough of it, and my stash is almost depleted.

Spaghetti Amatriciana

from: Weight Watchers

1 teaspoon olive oil

4 ounces Canadian bacon, diced

1 large onion, finely diced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cups canned tomatoes, chopped

8 ounces uncooked spaghetti, cooked al dente, water reserved

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook bacon until browned. Stir in onion, raise heat to medium-high and cook until lightly browned. Stir in the red pepper flakes and tomatoes.

2. Toss hot spaghetti and 1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water with tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Pasta Night One

I have been on a pasta kick lately. Probably because I can't stomach anything related to chicken. Since I can't seem to eat chicken, what is the next best.....Well, really it's the best thing to me in the first place. PASTA!

I am the type of person that can eat pasta every single day. Example, on Friday, I went to an Italian restaurant and had pasta. Saturday, the husband and I went to lunch and guess what I had? Pasta. Yesterday, I barely ate anything, so that doesn't count. And tonight, guess what was on the menu? Yes, pasta.

The recipe below was actually made last weekend. I just have been lazy and haven't posted. Don't let my laziness fool you. The spaghetti and meatballs were delicious. I have only ever made turkey meatballs, so I had to hunt for a real meat meatball recipe.

Cue this one: http://ellysaysopa.com/2007/01/03/on-top-of-spaghetti/

I am ashamed to admit that I didn't make the sauce in her recipe. I was trying to use up some jarred sauce that I had in the fridge. I know, jarred sauce. I am not a snob. I eat jarred sauce on occasion. As long as it on PASTA I could care less.

Elly's recipe is very easy to make and just like it states, makes about 25-30 perfect, tasty meatballs. I also admit that I was singing "On Top of Spaghetti" while making these. My husband thought I was nuts, but I digress.

Not only are these easy, but I liked the addition of the parmesan cheese. The added a little something extra. Plus, there were enough for leftovers. Jason ended up eating them the next night with some mashed potatoes. He said that they could very easily have passed for meatloaf if formed into a loaf rather than a ball. Mental note: Try this next time.

I didn't have any breadcrumbs on hand, so I made my own. I toasted some old bread and then processed it in the food processor. It worked well, but next time, I will use actual store-bought breadcrumbs. It saves extra dishes, that's for sure.

You could easily substitute the ground beef for veal, pork, ground turkey or chicken. I imagine any combination of the above would be tasty too. Enjoy these! They were fun to make and even more fun to eat!

On top of spaghettiiiiiiiii, all covered with cheeseeeeeeeee......

Meatballs

from: http://ellysaysopa.com/2007/01/03/on-top-of-spaghetti/

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/3 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 pound ground beef

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh

1/4 parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions, a pinch of salt, and cook about 2-3 minutes before adding parsley and garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes more and set aside to cool.

3. Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs and milk in large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

4. After 10 minutes, add the onion mixture, beef, egg, parmesan, salt, basil and pepper to the breadcrumb bowl. Mix well, but not for too long or you will toughen the meatballs. Form into 1-1.5 inch balls and place in a pan coated with cooking spray.

5. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes or until done.

6. Add cooked meatballs to pasta sauce and simmer a little, while pasta is cooking.

More Pie!

I hope you aren't disappointed, but this post is not about a dessert pie. Nope, this is a dinner pie. It's called a pie because essentially you are forming a crust in a pie plate using........wait for it.......spaghetti. Or in my case, angel hair.

I am very surprised at myself for not posting this recipe much much sooner. It's one of my favorites. Of course, it has all my favorite elements: pasta, tomatoes and gooey cheese. What more could a girl ask for?

This recipe came from someone named Terri Enberg (I hope I spelled her name right). I worked with her years ago at JK Gill. She brought this in for lunch one day and I had to have the recipe. It originally comes from the Oregonian's Food Day circular.

The great thing about this recipe is that it can be slimmed way down. For those on Weight Watchers or watching their fat intake, just substitute the cheeses with lower fat options. This is also a meatless dish, which tend to be lower cost to make. So not only is it great for people counting calories, it's great for people counting pennies.

I had all the ingredients on hand for this dish except for the ricotta. I would be willing to bet that you will also have many of these ingredients on hand. I always keep shredded cheese in the fridge, and I always have tomato or spaghetti sauce and pasta on hand.

So, without further ado: Pie!

Spaghetti Pie
from: Oregonian Food Day

8 ounces hot, cooked spaghetti, drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup plus two tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated and divided
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese (1/2 of a 15 oz container)
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10-inch pie plate. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, toss hot spaghetti with olive oil. In a small bowl, combine eggs and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Stir into spaghetti. Pour spaghetti mixture into prepared pie plate, spreading to form a crust.

3. Spread ricotta evenly over the crust, but not quite to the edge. Top with spaghetti sauce.

4. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Top with shredded mozzarella and bake 5 minutes longer, until cheese melts.

5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons parmesan. Cool 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Family Recipe

I am not sure where this recipe came from, but I always associate it with my mom. I remember her making this when I was growing up. Some of you may turn your noses at the fact that this macaroni and cheese is made with hot dogs, but that's okay. More for me to eat. If you absolutely have to make this without the hot dogs, that's your choice. Keep in mind though that they cook ON TOP, not MIXED IN to the dish. Why did I just capitalize that? Huh.

It is possible to make this dish lighter, which I actually did. Instead of using beef hot dogs, you can use turkey. Instead of whole milk, use 1% or fat-free. Instead of full fat cheese, use 2%. You can also cut back on the butter for the roux, although I wouldn't go much lower than a tablespoon instead of the two the recipe calls for.

This is not a macaroni and cheese that tastes like the boxed kind. Now while I think the nuclear orange cheese powder from the box has its place, this homemade stuff is much, much better. It doesn't take long at all to make. I am all for convenience and ease of preparation. It doesn't take terribly long to grate cheese or measure out milk now does it? If you really are lazy (which I normally am, no judging from me!) you can always use the preshredded cheese.

This might not be the most well-balanced meal on the face of the planet, but who cares? Once in a while you just need to make food that tastes good and makes you feel good. Everything in moderation. Just don't eat the whole pan. Although if you did, that would be pretty impressive.

Hot Dog & Macaroni Casserole

from: Pachey's Mom

1.25 cups elbow macaroni

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 2/3 cup milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used sharp)

1/4 pound cheese, cut in pieces

hot dogs

* Cook macaroni and drain.

* Make sauce: Melt butter in medium pan. Remove from heat. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in milk over medium heat. Add cheese pieces. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Add salt and pepper.

* In a one-quart casserole dish, layer in order, half macaroni, half sauce, half grated cheese. Repeat.

* Bake, uncovered at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

* Arrange hot dogs on top, bake 15 minutes longer.

Macaroni and Cheese before hot dogs.

After hot dogs. Not for the faint of heart!

Barbeque + Spaghetti

= Delicious! Now, before you go right to the recipe, I want to explain something. You don't actually barbeque the spaghetti in this dish. That would be messy. No, actually, this dish is a pasta dish made exclusively on the stove. Think spaghetti but instead of tomato sauce, you use barbeque sauce? Sound weird? The Neelys don't think so.

For those of you that watch Food Network, the Neelys have a show and they make a lot of barbeque and down-home, comfort type foods. I was browsing the Food Network website and ran across this. It sounded intriguing to me. Knowing how much I LOVE pasta, I had to try it. My husband isn't a huge fan of tomato sauces, so I thought he might prefer this one a little better (he did, but that's later in the post).

My house smelled amazing while the barbeque sauce was cooking. After reading the reviews on the Food Network website, I had heard that the sauce was a little too sweet. So I omitted the white sugar. The result was perfect: Tangy, slighty spicy barbeque sauce. Imagine having to smell it cooking for over an hour! It was almost torture!

If you don't want to make the barbeque sauce that accompanies this recipe, you could always use a good quality bottled sauce. However, the results of the homemade sauce are well worth it! The Neelys certainly know what they are doing.

Once you get past the fact that you are eating pasta with barbeque sauce, you will highly enjoy it. Jason, my husband loved it! He isn't a huge fan of barbeque sauce on meats but he opened his mind and really liked this one. Oh, and by the way, the recipe says it makes four servings. NO WAY! Not unless you can eat that much pasta in one sitting. I say it makes more like six huge servings. We will be eating leftovers for days which is perfectly fine with me!

It's a pretty filling meal (pasta, meat, some veggies), so really the only thing you need to make alongside this is possibly a salad. I ate a tossed salad, and you can tell by the picture, I also had some spinach. I am trying to eat more veggies.

I am definitely going to have to try more of the Neely's recipes. They had one for macaroni and cheese that was made with chorizo and tomatoes. Yummmm!

BBQ Spaghetti
from: The Neelys

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic salt
3.5 cups Neely's BBQ sauce, recipe follows
1 pound pork, beef or chicken, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 pound spaghetti

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute the peper and onion until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic salt. Add the BBQ sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and add the chopped meat.

2. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Season liberally with salt and add spaghetti. Cook until al dente, and drain. Toss spaghetti with sauce.

Neely's BBQ Sauce

2 cups ketchup (I used organic because I didn't want anything with high fructose corn syrup in it)
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons white sugar (if you prefer a non-sweet sauce, don't add this)
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

* In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Yield: 3.5 cup

Nostalgic Pasta

I am not sure why, but this recipe makes me feel about 20 years younger. Maybe it's the spiral pasta, the fact that it has pepperoni in it, or maybe it's just something that reminds me of what a child would like to eat.

I had a cooking dilemma today. I wanted to make lasagna, but wasn't sure if I wanted to put forth that much effort cooking. I thought pizza sounded good, but I wanted to cook and homemade pizza just doesn't taste as good to me. So, to compromise with my split personality and indecisiveness, I found this recipe. Tada! Pizza Pasta! Best of both worlds. Pasta and some of the same ingredients of lasagna, and some of the same ingredients as pizza.

God bless the Crock Pot cookbook. I can always find something yummy in there. I have several crock pot recipe books, and The New Creative Crock Pot Cookbook is wonderful. I have about 15 recipes dog-eared ready to use whenever I need to make something new. This was one of the dog-eared recipes.

I had to buy the ingredients at the grocery store because I didn't have many of them on-hand. That's okay. Honestly, I thought I was going to spend a lot more money. I bought everything from scratch with the exception of the tomatoes and the onion. My $13 total even included a package of brown and serve breadsticks! Although not the cheapest meal I have ever made, I thought $13 was fairly reasonable, also considering the amount of food this makes.

I doctored the recipe slightly from the ingredients. I will post the original recipe and call out my additions/substitutions.

Here is everything ready to go in the crockpot.

This was delicious! I am so glad I added the pizza sauce even though the recipe didn't call for it. It added some moisture to the pasta, otherwise, it would have been very dry. Also, don't omit the Parmesan. It gives the pasta a special touch also. Sometimes, it's the simple things that make dishes really tasty.

Enjoy!

Pizza Pasta

from: The New Creative Crock Pot Cookbook

4 cups corkscrew pasta, cook al dente and drained
15 slices salami, sliced into thin strips (I prefer pepperoni, so that is what I used. I also used more than 15 pieces. I think I used probably 20-25 cut into chunks)

4 fresh tomatoes, chopped (I seeded mine so they wouldn't be too watery)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, seeded and chopped

1 can (4 oz) sliced black olives, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt (I didn't use any because of the salt from the pepperoni and the pizza sauce)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated (I used more. Probably about 1.5 cups total)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

pizza sauce (the recipe does not call for this. I added this to make the pasta more like pizza. I used probably 1 cup of sauce. Just enough to coat all the ingredients, but not to make it too soupy)

*Combine all ingredients, except for the Parmesan cheese, in a crock pot or slow cooker. Mix thoroughly. Cover; cook on low 4-6 hours (or high 2-3 hours). Top with the Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on high for another 15 minutes.

And what better to eat with Pizza Pasta then pizza dough flavored breadsticks! I know, too many carbs. I don't care. I just doctored some store bought breadsticks. I brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with Italian seasoning. Yummy!

Yes, it really is LIGHT

Who would have thought that Fettuccini Alfredo could be light, or healthy? Well, leave it to Weight Watchers to be able to make a favorite dish lighter in calories and fat. I thought for sure Jason would grumble and groan about making a fat laden dish light, but he really enjoyed it! So did I considering I am not a huge fan of alfredo. I will eat it, but I don't make it very often, except that one other time (see old blog entry).

I altered this recipe slightly. It called for rubbing the chicken with whole garlic cloves. I love garlic, so I ended up using minced and kept it in the sauce. It turned out great! Also, believe it or not, the pasta doesn't taste like "whole wheat". Once it's covered in the sauce, nobody would really even know it was the healthier stuff.

I had never cooked or eaten Greek yogurt before, but it really added a zip and creaminess to this sauce. My local grocery store didn't carry it, so I had to make a special trip to Whole Foods. Now I will have to find another recipe that uses Greek yogurt. I suppose I could just eat it plain though, maybe with a little honey.

I hope you enjoy this lighter version of alfredo. Now, don't go mess it up by eating a piece of cheesecake for dessert or anything. Unless it's a healthy cheesecake : )

Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo
from: Weight Watchers with my alterations

6 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, washed and patted dry (four 4 oz pieces)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
cooking spray
1/2 cup canned chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup whole milk plain yogurt, Greek style
8 oz. whole-wheat pasta, fettuccini or spaghetti
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium low heat. Spray with cooking spray. Saute garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken and cook until golden, flipping once, about 5 minutes per side.

2. In a small bowl, combine broth, heavy cream and yogurt; pour over chicken and scrape bottom of pan with a spoon to incorporate seasonings. Simmer chicken gently, turning once, about 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

4. Remove chicken from cream sauce and set aside. Add Parmesan cheese to sauce and mix until well combined. Add cooked pasta and toss well. Serve pasta topped with chicken.

That green stuff in the picture? That's a big ole pile of cooked spinach. Mmmmm!

Italian Night

Tonight was pasta night in our home. I don't think I can go a week without eating some sort of pasta. The only requirement is that the pasta have tomatoes (for me) and meat (for my husband). I don't always meet these requirements, but tonight I did.

I think I may have said this before, but if I could, I seriously would eat pasta every night. Every single night. I wouldn't get bored with it. What can I say? I am a carb girl. Jason on the other hand, could eat steak and potatoes every night. To each is own right?

The package of sausage that I bought was a pound, so I have leftovers, which is great. Sausage and pasta for me another night! If you like a lot of heat in your food, I would suggest using hot Italian sausage rather than mild. I couldn't find crushed fire roasted tomatoes at my grocery store, so I used diced instead. It worked out great because the sauce ended up being a little more chunky.

I made the pasta al dente because it soaks up a lot of the juice from the sauce. However, it is your preference how you like your pasta! I didn't have any whole wheat rotini on hand, but for the portion size that you are eating (if you follow the Weight Watchers portion size, which is 1 and 1/3 cup), it's okay to use regular pasta. Whole wheat would be delicious though.

This makes tons, and I sectioned up the portions into little containers. That way, for dinner this week, I can take out a pre-measured container and heat it up. Add a green salad and you have a healthy dinner.

Who would have thought that eating healthy could be so yummy? I know it's a cliche, but I really do enjoy looking for foods that are good for you and taste good as well. I think I have found a good one with this recipe. Now, if I could just find a healthy and low-fat cupcake recipe, I would be all set! Enjoy!

Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta

from: Weight Watchers

1/2 pound raw turkey sausage, Italian-style, casings removed

2 teaspoons olive oil, extra-virgin

2 medium yellow peppers, cut into long thin strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup red wine

1.5 tablespoon minced garlic

28 oz. canned crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted if you can find them

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 oz. whole-wheat rotini pasta (or fusilli)

1/3 cup basil, fresh, chopped

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, to make sauce, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat with back of a spoon, until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate.

3. Heat oil in same skillet. Add peppers and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are lightly colored and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

4. Add wine and garlic; cook until most of liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt and browned sausage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and sauce is heated through, about 10 minutes.

5. While sauce simmers, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions. Drain pasta, return to pot. Add sauce and basil; toss to mix and coat.

See a Pattern?

If you have been reading my blog the last couple of weeks, you may have noticed a trend. I am using a lot of Weight Watchers recipe. That's no mistake. Here's my confession: I am doing Weight Watchers. I had success several years ago, and due to a wedding, busy life, and being lazy, I have gained some weight. So, the next few months, you will see a pattern of healthy recipes on my blog.

Tonight, it was Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese. Not Stovetop stuffing, but stovetop being the cooking method. This is a very easy recipe to put together. It takes no more than 30 minutes start to finish. Really, it only takes 10 minutes if the pasta is already cooked. That's the number one reason why I like it. Number two is that it's tasty, and the ingredients are minimal. Who doesn't have a can of diced tomatoes laying around? Who doesn't have some cheddar cheese in the fridge?

You may think that tomatoes in macaroni and cheese is odd. Well, it's not. Especially if you understand my love obsession with tomatoes. I could eat them every meal. I sometimes do actually. For instance, I had a sliced tomato on my egg and muffin sandwich this morning. For lunch, my soup had tomatoes in it. For dinner....well, you get the idea.

The picture below doesn't do this dish justice. It is really really good. I paired dinner with a green salad and a little of my homemade applesauce (see previous entry). It was perfect. I think I covered every food group in the meal. Well, except meat. But who needs meat anyways?

So, for all you Weight Watchers fans out there, this one is for you! You can still have your macaroni and cheese, just in moderation.

And the picture reminds me that I either need a new camera, or need to learn to take better pictures! Oh well. The point of this blog is really for me anyways. I like to track the recipes I have made in months past. Maybe my upcoming vacation can hone my camera skills. One can only hope right?

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

from: Weight Watchers

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, do not drain

1.5 cups shredded reduced-fat mild cheddar cheese

1/2 low-fat milk (1%)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni

1. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens slightly, 2-3 minutes.

2. Stir the cheddar, milk, Parmesan, mustard and salt into the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly until the cheese melts and the mixture is smooth, 2-3 minutes.

3. Stir the pasta into the skillet and cook until heated thoroughly and well coated, 1-2 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes before serving.

I'm Cultured!

Well, at least this recipe is. I got it from Bon Appetit, oooooooh. My lovely husband got me a subscription when he bought my mixer last year. Sadly, I have never attempted a recipe out of this magazine until today! The ripped out magazine page has been hanging on my fridge for a few days and I feel I should frame it and hang it on my wall. Why? Because this was the most delicious pasta dish I have ever eaten. It definitely makes it into the Top 3 for sure. I will most certainly have to make more of the recipes out of this magazine in the future.

Jason was hesitant when he heard there was lettuce (arugula) in this dish, and I was a little skeptical myself. Let's face it, I don't even like arugula in a salad. After eating it, I understand why the arugula was there: It adds crunch and a bit of peppery flavor. It was downright perfect.

The only thing I did differently was add extra rigatoni. Being a huge pasta fan, I didn't think 8 ounces of rigatoni would be enough. I am glad I added the extra because now I have lunches for the next week! Evidence below:

We ate this and it didn't need any accoutrements. The only thing we did eat with it was a yummy crusty Kalamata and rosemary baguette. It was heaven on a plate for sure.

Ohhhhh, I wish I could go back and eat this entire plate of pasta all over again. Instead, I will have to wait until tomorrow for my lunch.

Bon Appetit! Get it? Tee hee, because I got the recipe from the magazine of the same name?!? Get it? Oh never mind.

Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage-Tomato Sauce, Arugula, and Parmesan

from: Bon Appetit Magazine June 2008

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 pounds fresh hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes in juice

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes with added puree

8 ounces rigatoni

2 cups (packed) fresh arugula, stemmed

1/2 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion; saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add sausage; cook until browned, breaking up with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Drain drippings. Add wine, diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes; increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Stir pasta, arugula, basil and oregano into tomato sauce. Simmer until arugula wilts, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bacon Pasta

Two things you don't think of when you think of pasta. But, just be imaginative for a minute. Do you like bacon? Do you like pasta? Then you will probably like this easy and quick recipe.

I am always looking for pasta my husband will actually eat. It's not his favorite dinner choice, which is unfortunate, because it's always MINE. So, I figure he really likes bacon, and I really like pasta. Best of both worlds.

This recipe took about 30 minutes to pull together. As I was browning the bacon, I had the pasta water going. Plus, I made an herb and cheese foccacia, so that was in the oven.

The only thing that I was disappointed in was the fact that I had no green onion. I had every intention of using some from my garden, but my garden didn't produce enough this year. Dang this stupid Portland weather! I would highly recommend using green onion if you decide to make this. Notice there is also tomato in this recipe. You don't think I would actually make something without tomato do you?

If you choose to make foccacia also, it's super easy. I buy a pre-made foccacia in a package and jazz it up a bit. First, spread extra-virgin olive oil over the top of the bread. Then, sprinkle Italian seasoning on the top. Then, sprinkle fresh grated Parmesan over the top of that. Bake the loaf in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. You end up with a nice browned, crispy outside and a soft, warm inside. Pure heaven!

I don't have much else to say other than this was really good. Jason loved it, which is great, because he got the leftovers in his lunch the next day.

Peppered Bacon and Tomato Linguine

from: http://www.allrecipes.com/

1/2 pound peppered bacon, diced

2 tablespoons chopped green onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

ground black pepper to taste

1 package (1 pound) linguine

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly browned. Drain, reserving drippings and set aside.

2. Saute green onion and garlic in bacon drippings over medium heat for one minute. Stir in tomatoes, basil, salt and ground pepper, simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

4. Toss hot pasta with sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Lasagna...Sort Of

Today, we invited my in-laws over for an impromptu Mother's Day. I already had this recipe planned and I knew I would have enough, so why not? I have heard of lasagna in the crockpot before, and when I saw this recipe in a slow cooker cookbook, I thought I would give it a try. After all, it has spicy in the title. Spicy is always welcome in our household.

I didn't want to spend the money and buy a whole package of Italian sausage ($4.99 a package, yikes!), so I decided to buy bulk sausage. It was much less expensive, and I was able to cook it along side the ground beef.

The recipe is very easy, with two steps. I opted to cook it on high rather than low, because I had church this morning and wouldn't have time to get everything in the pot before I left. I also undercooked the lasagna noodles by about 2 minutes because I knew they would continue to cook in the crock pot.

The results were very tasty! I would like a little more tomato, but I can't win every time right?

Spicy Lasagna

from: Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook

10 ounce package lasagna noodles, broken into bite-size pieces, cooked

1 lb. group beef, browned

1/2 lb Italian sausage, sliced and browned

1 onion, chpped

1 clove garlic, minced

12 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

12 oz. cottage or ricotta cheese

16 oz. can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1.5 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1.5 teaspoon salt

1. Combine all ingredients in greased slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on low 7-9 hours, or High 3-5 hours.

Mama Mia!

At the request of my husband, I made homemade fettuccine alfredo. He couldn't stand one more pasta dish made with tomatoes, so, he made a plea. Now, as a tomato lover myself, I don't consider pasta dinner unless it has tomatoes. I love tomatoes so much that my kitchen is decorated with them.

I don't care for alfredo, so I feel I should disclaimer that up front. To me, it's too rich. I can literally feel my arteries clogging up with each bite. But, out of love, and to keep my husband from divorcing me, I decided to satisfy his wish.

I went to allrecipes.com to find this lovely alfredo sauce. It contains a full stick of butter (Lord, have mercy), a cup of heavy cream (ouch!), and two cups of fresh grated parmesan (kill me now). Do not make the mistake of using pre-grated off the shelf parmesan. Trust me, splurge and get the fresh kind in the triangles. It is well worth the taste of the sauce.

I have to admit, this sauce WAS rich, but it was also very tasty. It didn't taste like your typical alfredo sauce. I believe that is because I used good quality cheese and took my time. The addition of fresh garlic was lovely. I only had a little bit, but I can definitely say, I am satisfied on the alfredo front for a while.

Jason on the other hand, will probably want me to make this again next week. My poor poor arteries.

Fettuccine Alfredo
from: allrecipes.com

1/2 cup butter

5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup heavy cream

1 egg yolk

2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1. In a large skillet melt the butter and add the chopped garlic. Cook on low for about five minutes, stirring often, making sure not to burn the garlic.

2. Pour about a 1/4 cup of the cream into a small bowl. Add the egg yolk and beat together; put aside. Pour the remaining cream into the frying pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. As the cream starts to boil, mix rapidly using a whisk. Slowly add the cream/egg mixture. You do not want the egg to curdle. Continue whisking until well blended.

3. Add 1 cup of the parmesan cheese and continue to mix the cream. Pour in the remaining parmesan and the parsley, mix until smooth. Immediately remove from stove. Serve over cooked pasta.

A First

In all my years of cooking, can you believe that I have never made anything seafood related? I think it scares me a little bit for some reason. I bought a new cookbook a few days ago ($5.00 at Powell's bookstore!!) and I had to try one of the recipes. It had shrimp in it. Come on Pachey, go out on a limb!

I was a bit shocked at the price of frozen shrimp at the grocery store. I first went to the frozen section, and a one pound bag was $9.99! Luckily, the seafood counter had the same thing on sale for $4.99 a pound. All I had to do was remove the tails and thaw the little shimpies.

Besides the shrimp, this is a very inexpensive recipe to make. Most people have the canned goods on hand already, and if you add a salad and maybe another vegetable or bread, you have a hearty meal. Even with the pasta, it is pretty healthy also. I haven't calculated the calories yet, but I am sure it won't be terrible.

The recipe was simple to make, and even more yummy to eat. I don't know why I avoid seafood recipes so much, but this one was tasty. Of course, it had to have tomatoes on it, and it was even better with the pasta and cheese. Do you see a trend? I seem to make the same things over and over and over again: Pasta, tomatoes, cheese, casserole, meat. I added some garlic powder as well as extra red pepper flakes. We like our food spicy in this house. Eh, if it aint broke right?

Shrimp and Pasta Bake
from: The Best of Classic Cookbooks

1 package (16 oz) bow tie pasta
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 package (12 oz) frozen shelled deveined cooked small shrimp, thawed
1 jar (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain.

2. Place cooked pasta in ungreased 13x9 inch baking dish. Stir in tomatoes, shrimp, tomato sauce, mushrooms and spices. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil.

3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

My Poor Husband

My husband is getting really tired of me trying out new recipes. If that weren't bad enough, he is getting even more tired of recipes that are made in the crockpot. I am not sure what he has against the crockpot, but he is a little leery of it. 99% of the time the results turn out well. Okay, except for that coagulated mess of a bean and biscuit recipe. And, maybe one or two other times. And let's not mention the time I overcooked pasta in it. That was pretty gnarly.

Anyways, I am a big pasta lover. Give me a big heaping bowl of pasta with nothing on it and I am happy. If you throw in a piece of bread, even better (healthy right?)! I wanted to try out a chunky spaghetti sauce and my best friend let me borrow her Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook (which is awesome by the way) which had about 12 good sauce recipes.

When this was done cooking, it resembled the American Chop Suey I blogged about a few weeks ago. This was very hearty, and if you substitute ground turkey or extra lean ground beef, it would be a very healthy recipe too. All those vegetables are good for you! I added a little extra seasoning in my version. Just a little extra garlic powder, Italian Seasoning and red pepper flakes. I also used canned tomatoes, because I am lazy and didn't want to seed and cut up three pounds of tomatoes.

Of course, we had bread with this. I am a carb addict, what do you expect?

Nancy's Spaghetti Sauce

from: Fix-It and Forget-It

1/4 cup minced onion

garlic powder to taste

3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes, or 28oz. can diced tomatoes with juice

6 ounce can tomato paste

3 1/2 teaspoons salt

dash of pepper

1 basil leaf

1 chopped green pepper

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

4 ounce can sliced mushrooms

1. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on low 3 hours.