Good Ol' Spaghetti

Sometimes Clay and I get home after a long day of working and the only word to describe how we feel is rabid. When Clay is running a high mileage week, or is in need of a lot of good fuel, pasta of any kind can be a great way to go-to. We often make many different variations of pastas. But there are sometimes when you’ve just clocked a long work day, or did a long run, and your body is just screaming for some good ol’ comfort food. Refer to the OG of classic pastas, spaghetti.

I say this over and over in my posts but food truly is fuel. The more energy you exert, the more nutrients, carbs, and healthy fats your body needs to recover properly. Making sure that you are allowing yourself to eat food may sound like such simple concept. But we are apart of an ever changing society that is so desperately striving to categorize foods into good versus bad. Peeps, our bodies work hard. They keep us standing, they walk us around all day, they help us think (some people less than others), they push us to run faster or longer distances, and they recover when we’ve over worked them. GOSH DANG IT, our bodies deserve a plate of freaking homemade spaghetti!

I am not a professional chef by any means, but I know that any marinara sauce you buy from the grocery store is garbage. Why do you think fresh sauce doesn’t last that long in the fridge? I’ll answer that question, because it isn’t packed full of preservatives and chemicals. Next time you go to the store to pick up a jar of Prego or Ragu or whatever, flip it over and read how much sugar is one serving size. It should startle you. Is our society so sugar addicted that we have to sneak the processed white crack into everything we consume?! The answer is yes. It’s everywhere and in everything.

Now on that dreary note! The good news is you don’t have to rely on companies to provide your staple pantry items, they are super easy to make yourself. In my opinion they are 10,000 times more delicious. Heaven forbid we spend more than five minutes in the kitchen simply heating up sugar paste, oh wait I mean store bought pasta sauce. I freaking dare you to get out of your comfort zone, get off of your lazy butt, and treat your body to some yummy pasta! Recipe deets below.

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Ingredients

  • 1 package of spaghetti noodles

  • 1 lb ground hamburger or turkey

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • dash of salt

  • 1, 15 oz can tomato sauce (We use Muir Glen brand)

  • 1, 6 oz can tomato paste

  • 1/2 onion finely chopped

  • 2 tomatoes chopped

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 2 tbsp basil

  • 2 tbsp Italian seasoning

  • 2 tsp oregano

  • dash of red pepper flakes

  • 1/4 cup pasta water

Instructions

  1. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package instructions.

  2. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water.

  3. Drain pasta noodles and toss in 2 tbsps of olive oil.

  4. Cook hamburger or turkey meat in a skillet and set aside.

  5. Saute onions and garlic in a pan with olive oil until they are soft and slightly browned. Add the chopped tomatoes to start to soften them.

  6. Let simmer over medium heat with no lid for 5 minutes.

  7. Add the tomato sauce, paste, pasta water and all of the spices to the simmering mixture. Mix all of the ingredients well to combine. Allow to come to a simmer.

  8. Once you see some bubbling, aka simmering, place a lid on and reduce heat to low. Simmer like this for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  9. Add cooked meat the last 10 minutes of the simmering process.

  10. ASSEMBLE DINNER AND GRUB UP!

Extra Tip

Clay and love side dishes. We usually have some kind of bread and a side salad when we make spaghetti. Pictured in this meal is a baguette that I picked up at the grocery store. I simply cut it into slices, drizzled olive oil and a dash of garlic salt on it, and toasted it in the oven at 400. SO EASY!

EatMaddie Lambourne