Yummy Spaghetti

So I started out making my mom's recipe for spaghetti sauce, but I changed it up so much it's my own. So enjoy!

Angela's Spaghetti Sauce:

1 medium onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. ground meat (beef, turkey... or even no meat at all)

1 large (28 oz.) can diced or crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 large fresh tomato (I use "tomatoes on the vine")

Lots of fresh chopped basil, to taste

2 T. fresh oregano, chopped

1 T. dried parsley

S&P to taste

Olive oil

In large pot saute onion and garlic with 2-4 T. olive oil. Add desired ground meat, and brown. Add the can of tomatoes, fresh tomato and paste. Season with oregano, parsley and basil. I use about 2 handfuls of fresh basil. Then add S&P to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with your favorite pasta and the Macaroni Grill Rosemary Bread from my previous post. :)

*If you want to sneak in some extra veggies without the kids knowin' you can add shredded carrots, zucchini or mushrooms.

**if you don't have fresh oregano, you would be fine using dried. I wouldn't use dried basil though, because thats where a lot of the freshness comes from. I always like using mostly fresh ingredients, that's why I added a fresh tomato in the recipe, so it wasn't all canned.

***Add what you want or take things out and make it your own! :) But share with us what you did :)

Macaroni Grill at home!

I saw the recipe for Macaroni Grill's Rosemary Bread on one of the blogs I follow, and I had to make it. So I had to figure out a main dish, and I remembered I had my mom's Spaghetti Sauce Recipe. Fresh Spaghetti sauce it so easy, and it's a thousand times better (and healthier) than the bottled stuff. Here you go! And you will never wanna use that bottled junk again!

Waiting for the bread to rise...

Fresh out of the oven...

I highly recommend to make the Rosemary bread first, and start the spaghetti sauce when it is rising in the oven. The bread has to rise 2 times, so it takes about 2 hours. It's actually perfect though because it gives the sauce time to simmer and bring out all the flavors!

Rosemary Bread from Macaroni Grill

1 T. dry yeast

1 T. sugar

1 C. warm water (105-115 degrees)

2 1/2 C. flour, divided

1 tsp. salt

2 T. rosemary, chopped

1 T. olive oil

2 T. butter or margarine

Coarsely ground salt (kosher is perfect)

Put the yeast, water and sugar into a blender. Mix it until it is frothy.Turn the oven onto 200°. (You just need to warm it up; you’re not baking yet.)

To the mixing bowl of yeast mixture, add two cups of the flour, salt, and half of your chopped rosemary. Keep the other half cup of flour close at hand. Knead the dough for a few minutes. Add the rest of the flour as needed to get the dough to the right consistency (soft and stretchy without being overly sticky).

*Now, turn the oven OFF*

Lift the dough out of the mixing bowl. Add the olive oil to a bowl and swirl it around. Roll the dough in the olive oil so it is well coated and let it sit in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and place it in the oven (the oven should be off by now, if you missed that step). Leave the door cracked so it isn’t too hot in there.Let the dough rise for about an hour. It should be approximately doubled in size. Punch the dough down and knead it again. Divide it into two equal sized lumps and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.

Prepare your baking pan (I used a cookie sheet with parchment paper). If the surface is not naturally non-stick, spray it with the cooking spray. Shape the dough into two oval-shaped loaves and arrange on the pan. Melt the butter or margarine. Use a brush to paint the surface of the loaves with butter. Use all of the butter. The loaves will be quite saturated when you’re done. Take the rest of the chopped rosemary and sprinkle it over the loaves. Pat it down gently to set it into the dough. Return the loaves to the oven. Don’t turn it on yet. Let the dough rise again, for about 45 minutes. Remove the loaves and preheat the oven to 450°. Sprinkle a little bit of coarse salt over the loaves. Return the dough to the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes* until light brown.Makes two loaves. Best enjoyed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic**.

*I only cooked the bread about 18 minutes, because it turned brown quickly and I didn't want it to dry out. So, I would keep an eye on it, every oven is different.

** I put some chopped garlic to my cookie sheet while the bread was baking to create oven roasted garlic to add to the oil and vinegar for a dipping sauce. It was really good.