Sometimes I’m super lazy and do the unthinkable…make something NOT completely from scratch. I know…it’s embarrassing. Like, how could I? It’s like why did I even bother attending culinary school if I am NOT cooking everything from scratch? I wish I could say it was because I was busy running my empire today but unfortunately, I managed to waste my day shopping with my mother instead. The good news…I scored a cool vintage tea set today and some cool vintage fabric. The bad news…husband will be coming home to a dinner made with jarred spaghetti sauce. The good news…when you throw wine and lots of vegetables in your pre-made sauce and simmer it for about an hour, it’ll actually taste gourmet and the husband won’t even know. What he doesn’t know, won’t kill him. I know…bad wife strikes again. xoxo.
Today’s ingredients. I know…I’ve got a jar of Prego here and yes, the spaghetti noodles aren’t made from scratch!
The aromatics. I also like sneaking in vegetables into my meals although there’s no need to “sneak” in vegetables since the husband is constantly bugging me to put more vegetables into our diet.
This meal couldn’t be easier. You saute the ground beef first and then add the carrots, celery, onions, and garlic.
You then add the wine and pasta sauce and just cook this for at least an hour. Your spaghetti will then taste like it’s a bit fancier than the fact that it’s just a jar of spaghetti sauce. Enjoy!
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Source: Lo Huynh (4 servings)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ pound ground beef
tt sea salt
tt freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ each yellow onion, small dice
1 each carrot, peeled and smaill dice
1 stalk celery rib, small dice
1 cup merlot/cabernet savignon
24 ounces your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce
¼ cup water
16 ounces spaghetti, cooked al dente
Garnishes:
1 tablespoon parsley, finely minced
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
1. In a dutch oven, heat the extra virgin olive oil over high heat.
2. Add the ground beef, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook until brown.
3. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery and cook until the onions are translucent. This should take about five minutes.
4. Add the wine and reduce until au sec, which means cook until the red wine liquid has reduced to basically nothingness or dissipates.
5. Add the jarred spaghetti sauce to the pot. Add 1/4 cup of water to the jar and swirl it around to get the last bits of sauce from the jar and pour this into the pot.
6. Cover the sauce with a lid and let this simmer over low heat for about an hour.
7. Serve with al dente spaghetti and garnish with chopped parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese.