Menu Planning Monday

This week, things are a little different.

I have no idea what I'll be eating every night for dinner [or breakfast and lunch, for that matter] ... heck, I don't even know what my kids will be eating. I'm leaving that in my mom's hands.

I just hope I don't come back to two little sugar addicts. You know what they say about Grandma's spoiling their babies!!

So I thought this week I would show you guys something yummy we've been eating in our house recently - our homemade spaghetti sauce!

I remember when we first got the recipe for this: M was looking for something to cook at home for my birthday. Something to really spoil me with. I was pregnant, and hated going out in the heat, but with an August birthday, heat couldn't be avoided. So we stayed him.

M can cook when he wants -- but mostly southern style food. Fried stuff, especially. So he needed to find someone else that knew their way around the kitchen. He called his Staff Sargent, who gave him this quick and easy recipe for the best sauce we've had.

From that point on, we have never bought another jar of sauce. If we don't have the stuff, or the energy, to make it homemade, we just don't eat spaghetti -- that's seriously how good this stuff is!

Ingredients: 

1 14.5oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 6oz can of tomato paste
2 TBSP chopped, fresh parsley
1/2 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 TBSP and 3 tsp olive oil
2 TBSP and 2 tsp diced onion
4 TBSP white wine

Directions: 

Blend the tomatoes, paste, parsle, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. In a skillet, over medium heat, saute the onion in the olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the blended tomato mixture, and the white wine. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serves: 2-3 people, with maybe a little leftover, depending on how much sauce you like.

**I should also note we add just a spoonful of brown sugar to this to help with acidity.


Years have passed. We haven't seen or talked to that Staff Sargent in a long time. But we'll always be glad that he passed on the recipe all those years ago -- our spaghetti dinners have forever been changed for the better!! So I hope you, too, enjoy the recipe!