Candace Janidlo

Due to a perfect storm of adjusting to a new sleep/wake schedule (a perpetual night owl takes approximately two months to adjust to early morning waking), shuffling the scheduling of two kids (new school, new responsibilities, still only 24 hours in a day), illness (almost an entire month - all four of us sick at the same time), and the unexpected death of a beloved aunt, I’ve been absent from Around Anderson for some time. In times of stress and crazy schedules and hungry families, it’s good to have a couple of quick, easy meals you can make from memory. One of my family’s favorites is spaghetti and meat sauce.

When I have several hours to devote to sauce-making, I do like to make my own sauce. Sometimes, however, that’s not possible and I reach for a jar of spaghetti sauce to help things along. Boosting the sauce takes a little thought but not much advance planning, if you have your pantry and fridge well-stocked.

Busy Day Spaghetti

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced (on really busy days I use the jarred, pre-minced garlic)

1 pound low-fat ground beef or ground turkey (for a vegetarian option, finely mince a small eggplant and 2 carrots in a food processor)

1 jar spaghetti sauce, marinara style (I really like the Newman’s Own brand)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

¼ tsp red pepper flakes, optional

¼ cup sweet vermouth, optional (I’ll explain that later)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-to-large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until onions start looking translucent. Add garlic and cook until it softens a bit but make sure it doesn’t brown.  Add the beef (or turkey or vegetables) and cook through. You can drain the beef if you like, but if you start with really low-fat beef you probably won’t need to. Pour in the spaghetti sauce. I also add a bit of water to the empty jar to get that last bit of sauce that never seems to want to come out - usually about a ¼- to a ½-cup total. Stir well. Add the oregano, basil, and pepper flakes if using and turn the heat to simmer. Add the vermouth. This gives the sauce that “all day simmer” flavor.

Now, it’s true that not all the alcohol will “burn off” during cooking. The longer you keep the sauce on the heat, the more the alcohol will evaporate, and the larger the pot, the more the alcohol will evaporate. You can buy non-alcoholic vermouth if you prefer. And, if you simmer this sauce for an hour, as I recommend, only 25% of the alcohol’s chemical compounds will remain. Of course, using the vermouth at all is completely optional.

Simmer the sauce for an hour, or at least a half hour. Prepare your favorite pasta and serve the spaghetti with big mixed-green salads.