What a Great, Productive Day

As you know the morning started out with Moo making crepes. Then PE finished making the meat sauce and we ate it over spaghetti squash and some pasta with garlic bread. DELICIOUS!! I am going to share those recipes while I wait for Moo to clean up the kitchen.

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Marinara Sauce
from Sparky
Print Recipe

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 cups fresh tomatoes, diced*
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
2 (5.5 oz) cans tomato juice
oregano
basil
garlic powder
onion powder
Italian seasoning
salt

Heat olive oil in 6 qt pan. Saute onion and garlic in heated oil. Add tomatoes, tomato juice, and tomato sauce. (2 cans diced tomatoes can be substituted for fresh tomatoes and tomato juice). More sauce or juice can be added to thin the sauce OR tomato paste can be added to thicken it. Add seasonings to desired taste. It seems as though a little salt goes a long way in this sauce so use caution--more can always be added later. Simmer sauce for several hours to let all the flavors meld together. Serve as is or use to make Meat Sauce. Extras can be frozen.

*The tomatoes can be seeded if you are worried about bitterness from the seeds.

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Meat Sauce
from Sparky
Print Recipe

marinara sauce (homemade or purchased)
1 lb hamburger
1 lb Italian sausage
garlic powder
onion powder
Italian seasoning
basil
oregano

Cook hamburger and Italian sausage in pan with seasonings. Once cooked add to Marinara Sauce and server over spaghetti squash or favorite pasta.

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How to cook Spaghetti Squash
from Sparky
Print Recipe

Wash spaghetti squash. Puncture with a knife or fork six to seven times. Place in a large pot. Cover with water. The squash will float in the water, that is okay. Cover the pan with lid. Place on stove and bring to boil. Boil for 20 minutes or until fork can be inserted with little resistance.

OR

Wash and puncture the squash. Place in a Crock-Pot with 1/4 cup water. Cook on low for 4-6 hours depending on the size of the squash.

Once cooked, cut ends off the squash. Cut in half. Remove seeds, and shred. Place the "spaghetti strands" into a bowl. Serve with Marinara/Meat Sauce or butter and salt and pepper. Extras can be frozen.

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Garlic Bread
from Sparky
Print Recipe

1 loaf french bread or baguette*
olive oil
roasted garlic

Turn oven on to broil. Slice french bread or baguette as desired and place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven. Broil for 5 minutes or until lightly browned and crusty. Remove from oven and serve with roasted garlic cloves. (Heat the cloves before serving then spread on bread.)

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Everything was delicious and made for a wonderful early dinner.