Jazzed Up Pasta Sauce
Store-bought spaghetti sauce is not a bad idea when you’re having a hectic day. It doesn’t take hours of simmering. Just add a good quality bottled sauce to your sauteed aromatics, add your favorite seasonings, add some ground meat, and some cheese. Garnish with fresh herbs like basil or parsley and enjoy the day!
Bottled pasta sauce can be a helpful base for making your own spaghetti sauce because it already contains a variety of seasonings and ingredients that would normally be used in a homemade sauce. By starting with a bottled sauce, you can easily customize it to your liking by adding additional ingredients such as fresh herbs, vegetables, or meat, or by adjusting the seasoning to taste. This can save time and effort in preparing a sauce from scratch while still allowing for a personalized touch.
the ingredients are:
- MACARONI – any pasta will work
- AROMATICS – garlic and onion
- SEASONINGS – smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, red chili pepper flakes, and salt
- PROTEIN – lean ground beef
- VEGGIES – bell pepper and tomatoes
- GARNISH – fresh basil
- HINT OF SWEETNESS – with brown sugar and honey
story behind
- Years ago, my co-worker invited me to come over to her friend’s house. She was nice enough to have offered us dinner and non-alcoholic drinks. She cooked the pasta, opened a bottle of spaghetti sauce, and dump everything into the cooked pasta with some butter. That was it! No added seasonings, no cheese, no meat, no sauteed aromatics, NO TASTE! There’s nothing wrong with buying ready-made sauces as long as you’re aware of what’s in it and you’re OK with that. Life is not always about the day going smoothly and organized. Nowadays, many of us are so busy running around places. Kids’ soccer games, parent-teacher meetings, work, cleaning the house, doing laundry, and on and on… Creatively making something of what we already have in our pantry and fridge makes life a little easier.
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Jazzed Up Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 Roma tomatoes, deseed, diced
- 1 cup diced bell pepper
- 1 24 oz. store-bought pasta sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 16 oz. dry pasta, cooked according to package
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- a handful of basil for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the pot with oil, add onion and garlic saute until the onion is tender. Add smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, red chili pepper flakes, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the ground beef, cook until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes and bell pepper, stir, cook until tender.
- Add the spaghetti sauce, brown sugar, and honey, stir, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir after simmering, add the cooked pasta continue stirring until the pasta is coated with the sauce. Sprinkle the Parmesan and shredded cheddar cheese on top. Garnish with fresh basil.
Video
Notes
Hi there! Nice to meet you. My name is Jen.
I’m a mom of 2 wonderful girls. I love to prepare and cook home-cooked meals. Cooking and planning your meals might sound like another chore added to your already long list of things to do. Believe me, I’ve been there. However, cooking more meals at home is worth all the effort. After years of cooking for my family and teaching culinary classes, I can honestly say that I have more control over the quality of the ingredients I use. That means I’m eating a lot better. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring and you don’t have to eat the same thing repeatedly. There are ways we can do to naturally enhance the flavor of our food and enjoy home-cooked meals.