Spaghetti is a quick meal, one that I often fix on Wednesdays (today included!). I need something super fast that won’t take too much thought.
My husband prefers Prego sauce, and I have to agree that it is good too. But Prego can be expensive. I like to buy cheap sauce and add a few of my own spices to it. This takes the spaghetti to a new level. *Smiles*
I add:
Fennel seeds
Crushed red pepper
Oregano
and any other spice I think sounds good!
These spices give it a little “kick”. I don't add a lot of each, probably a teaspoon or two of everything combined. The fennel seeds definitely give it a great taste! I have made spaghetti sauce from scratch, but my husband prefers canned sauce. And on Wednesdays, it certainly is easier to open a can then to chop up tomatoes and simmer sauce!
11 comments:
Yes, Prego is good. I tried Ragu and it was so watery yuck. I'll have to try adding some of my own spices next time. But not too much of a kick it won't go good with my hubby.
Oh, I've never tried Fennel seeds in spaghetti sauce. I'm going to try that. I used to always make my own and even can or freeze a bunch. Then I worked with an Italian lady who thought I was nuts because the store bought stuff is so good nowadays. I still make it from scratch on occasion, but I usually use store bought.
Try adding garlic, basil, mixed italian spice blend or thyme.
I like to keep a small amount of cooked ground beef (with onions) in small portions in the freezer for adding to store bought sauce. They are small enough that I don't have to thaw them first, just pop them into the heating sauce.
I never thot of adding the crushed red peppers! YUM! My hubby would love that!
I never thought to kick it up a notch by adding extra spices to the canned stuff. . . great idea! We really like the Paul Newman marinara sauce. (Despite it's extra $$, I buy it because my kids will actually eat it.)
Do you add meat to your sauce?
Emily
Tammy,
My husband has an Italian heritage, so jar sauces are out of the question!!! I make a big batch at a time, enough for 2-3 Sundays (our pasta and sauce day) and freeze it.
Be thankful all you have to do is pop open a jar and doctor it a bit! :o) lol
I wish I could GET my crowd to eat spaghetti!
This is one of my specialities...
I do what you do for spagetti sauce. I haven't tried fennel though.
I would suggest the Hunts sauce in a can... I've found that to be the most "well rounded" and needing the least amount of 'additives'. In fact I've taken to just using it straight (the sausage variety) and adding some italien sausage. I usually add hot sausage into the sauce for a kick and then have a sweet sausage on the side.
I'll have to try the fennel and red peppers. I'm a scratcher myself-neither of us like the prepared spagetti sauces. Too sweet. My favorite thing is to use tomato paste instead of sauce, and thin it considerably with beef or chicken broth or stock-I try to always have some on hand from the crock pot or frozen. Then pop in a can of crushed tomatoes, garlic, onions, and all the green spices-oregano, basil, marjoram, etc. If I'm feeling like spending more time, I'll cook the garlic and onions first in butter-I think it's better that way. Sausage is also good with the hamburger. I always make too much sauce, and try to freeze some if I can-It's always better the second time around anyway because the flavors blend.
Yes, I do put meat in my sauce. Usually ground beef, but as you can see on my menu, this week I was to use ground turkey sausage. I actually didn't make anything last night...wasn't feeling well at all. So maybe it will be tonight instead. :-)
We make our own sauce so I can watch the salt and sugar.
Post a Comment