Meat and Veggie Spaghetti Sauce
Howdy!
I've never really been a huge spaghetti fan. It's fine and all, but definitely not something I would choose to have, at least when I was younger. One of my sisters always chose it for her birthday dinner and I remember thinking...really?! People always say spaghetti is kind of the go to college meal. Well, if I remember correctly the first time I made spaghetti for myself in college wasn't until my second year. And then I fell in love with making homemade sauces!
Lately, I have found that there is something so comforting in homemade spaghetti sauce. Other things I love about this recipe: it's nice and cheap for us college folk (or anyone really!), it's simple and fast, and it's very versatile. It's a great way to use vegetables that are nearing their end and you don't know what to do with them. Check the notes for a tip about how to sneak more veggies into your kids' diets!
Seeing as it's the middle of the day and I have lots of homework, I can't spend too much time writing, so I'll just make this short and sweet and give you the recipe!
Meat and Veggie Spaghetti Sauce
Cook Time: ~20 min.
Yields: 3.5-4 cups
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 green onions, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
17 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
9 mushrooms, chopped
4 oz. ground beef (or turkey, chicken)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3 heaping Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. maple syrup (or sugar)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil
Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the oil. When heated, add the onions and cloves and sauté until they start to get to be slightly golden.
2. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms and sauté until tender.
3. Add the ground beef and sauté until cooked through.
4. Add everything else and stir well. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Notes:
--I serve mine over some cooked spaghetti squash.
--Trust me, you can't taste the mushrooms.
--You can substitute the tomatoes and mushrooms for any other vegetable, or leave them and add more veggies. Ones that I've liked in the past are zucchini, spinach, regular vine tomatoes, green peas, etc. The options are endless!
--This was a pretty chunky sauce, which I love. If you don't like it as chunky I would recommend just reducing the amounts of meat and vegetables.
--The maple syrup adds a really yummy almost carmel-y taste, but sugar is definitely the cheaper option!
--If you want to hide the fact that there's vegetables in this, you can cook the meat separately. Cook the rest of the ingredients as directed and then blend it all up so it's a smooth spaghetti sauce. Then add the meat (if desired).
P.S. Ignore the quality of photo :) I'm definitely not a photography pro.
I've never really been a huge spaghetti fan. It's fine and all, but definitely not something I would choose to have, at least when I was younger. One of my sisters always chose it for her birthday dinner and I remember thinking...really?! People always say spaghetti is kind of the go to college meal. Well, if I remember correctly the first time I made spaghetti for myself in college wasn't until my second year. And then I fell in love with making homemade sauces!
Lately, I have found that there is something so comforting in homemade spaghetti sauce. Other things I love about this recipe: it's nice and cheap for us college folk (or anyone really!), it's simple and fast, and it's very versatile. It's a great way to use vegetables that are nearing their end and you don't know what to do with them. Check the notes for a tip about how to sneak more veggies into your kids' diets!
Seeing as it's the middle of the day and I have lots of homework, I can't spend too much time writing, so I'll just make this short and sweet and give you the recipe!
Meat and Veggie Spaghetti SauceCook Time: ~20 min.
Yields: 3.5-4 cups
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 green onions, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
17 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
9 mushrooms, chopped
4 oz. ground beef (or turkey, chicken)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
3 heaping Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. maple syrup (or sugar)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried basil
Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the oil. When heated, add the onions and cloves and sauté until they start to get to be slightly golden.
2. Add the tomatoes and mushrooms and sauté until tender.
3. Add the ground beef and sauté until cooked through.
4. Add everything else and stir well. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Notes:
--I serve mine over some cooked spaghetti squash.--Trust me, you can't taste the mushrooms.
--You can substitute the tomatoes and mushrooms for any other vegetable, or leave them and add more veggies. Ones that I've liked in the past are zucchini, spinach, regular vine tomatoes, green peas, etc. The options are endless!
--This was a pretty chunky sauce, which I love. If you don't like it as chunky I would recommend just reducing the amounts of meat and vegetables.
--The maple syrup adds a really yummy almost carmel-y taste, but sugar is definitely the cheaper option!
--If you want to hide the fact that there's vegetables in this, you can cook the meat separately. Cook the rest of the ingredients as directed and then blend it all up so it's a smooth spaghetti sauce. Then add the meat (if desired).
P.S. Ignore the quality of photo :) I'm definitely not a photography pro.
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