Deelicious Recipes: My Cheap and Easy Pasta Sauce
Greetings, merry wanderers of the net.
I'm experiencing a bit of sleep dep from taking care of my sick boyfriend, and frazzled because I've been making last-minute appointments with rental agencies for The Great Apartment Hunt Chicago next week. I have no energy to rant about anything today. Stella is at my parents' place and my cats haven't been doing anything but trying to escape the heat of my AC-less apartment, so I can't throw a My Crazy Pets at you, either. So I have decided to add a new post series to my blog involving my one true love: Food!
Bet you thought I was going to say the Joker.
Anyway, I love food. Alot. Probably more than a person avoiding becoming obese should. The recipe board on my Pinterest account is by far the biggest, and my fridge is always full of leftover kitchen experiments. Food rocks. I love cooking it, I love eating it, I love feeding it to people. I absolutely do NOT understand when people tell me they can't cook. Can't cook...anything? Seriously? I have so many friends whose diets consist of Ramen and microwavable Mac n Cheese, it's disgusting. And I'm sorry, but I don't buy that you "can't cook." Cooking can be ridiculously easy. It takes as much time to boil noodles and slap some parmesan on it as it does to make Ramen...which is disgusting no matter what old fridge condiments you use to dress it up. It's not that you can't cook. It's that you're lazy. Own up to it!
I don't always eat the healthiest of meals, trust me, but my diet has never been that of the average college student, even when I lived in the dorms. I was always able to whip up something in the dorm kitchen or a friend's apartment, or even just mix a salad together. I've found alot of favourite recipes over the years, and even created a few myself, that are delicious, cheap, and sometimes (sometimes) even healthy! This one I'm going to share with you today is all three.
I created this incredibly easy recipe for pasta sauce when I was craving spaghetti but didn't have the time or patience to use my grandmother's all-day regiment for ragu. The ingredients are easy--most people have them in their kitchens already, even my mother, who hates cooking--it's delicious, and pretty healthy as well. So without further ado, here it is:
:Now here's where I have to slap on a disclaimer--when I make a recipe, I tend to follow the path of the Old Italian Grandmother and not use measurements for spices. Many people find that terrifying for some reason, but I find it liberating. Just don't overdo the spices. You can always add more if you put in too little, but add too much and it's too late. Do what I do--mix in some spices, taste a spoonful. Repeat if more spices are needed. And don't be afraid! It's really hard to get this particular sauce wrong!:
Cheap and Easy Pasta Sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (not sure about ounces, use a regular sized one as opposed to supersized. I like to use petite diced tomatoes sometimes for a less chunky sauce)
1 can tomato sauce or paste (depending on how thick you want your sauce)
Olive Oil (enough to coat the bottom of the skillet)
Minced garlic (I love garlic, I use heaping spoonfuls. Use as much or as little as you prefer) if you don't want to use minced garlic, you can always use a bit of Garlic Powder.
Red Pepper and White Pepper (optional, I love spiciness personally)
Salt
Basil
Oregano
1 Bay Leaf
(I promise you, most of these spices are in your kitchen already, and if they're not, they're cheap at your grocery store.)
Turn skillet or medium saucepan to low/medium heat. Heat the olive oil. Add garlic and simmer until it browns. Add cans of tomato substance, whisk to blend. Add all spices to taste, whisk to blend. Let simmer on low/medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf (don't forget, bay leaves aren't edible!) Pour over pasta. Nom intensively.
And that's all she wrote! All you need to do is pour in the tomatoes, spice to taste, and eat it. A third grader could do it. To make things a bit healthier, you can use wheat noodles, which I find delicious.
Enjoy!
I'm experiencing a bit of sleep dep from taking care of my sick boyfriend, and frazzled because I've been making last-minute appointments with rental agencies for The Great Apartment Hunt Chicago next week. I have no energy to rant about anything today. Stella is at my parents' place and my cats haven't been doing anything but trying to escape the heat of my AC-less apartment, so I can't throw a My Crazy Pets at you, either. So I have decided to add a new post series to my blog involving my one true love: Food!
Bet you thought I was going to say the Joker.
 |
| Mmmuah! |
Anyway, I love food. Alot. Probably more than a person avoiding becoming obese should. The recipe board on my Pinterest account is by far the biggest, and my fridge is always full of leftover kitchen experiments. Food rocks. I love cooking it, I love eating it, I love feeding it to people. I absolutely do NOT understand when people tell me they can't cook. Can't cook...anything? Seriously? I have so many friends whose diets consist of Ramen and microwavable Mac n Cheese, it's disgusting. And I'm sorry, but I don't buy that you "can't cook." Cooking can be ridiculously easy. It takes as much time to boil noodles and slap some parmesan on it as it does to make Ramen...which is disgusting no matter what old fridge condiments you use to dress it up. It's not that you can't cook. It's that you're lazy. Own up to it!
I don't always eat the healthiest of meals, trust me, but my diet has never been that of the average college student, even when I lived in the dorms. I was always able to whip up something in the dorm kitchen or a friend's apartment, or even just mix a salad together. I've found alot of favourite recipes over the years, and even created a few myself, that are delicious, cheap, and sometimes (sometimes) even healthy! This one I'm going to share with you today is all three.
I created this incredibly easy recipe for pasta sauce when I was craving spaghetti but didn't have the time or patience to use my grandmother's all-day regiment for ragu. The ingredients are easy--most people have them in their kitchens already, even my mother, who hates cooking--it's delicious, and pretty healthy as well. So without further ado, here it is:
:Now here's where I have to slap on a disclaimer--when I make a recipe, I tend to follow the path of the Old Italian Grandmother and not use measurements for spices. Many people find that terrifying for some reason, but I find it liberating. Just don't overdo the spices. You can always add more if you put in too little, but add too much and it's too late. Do what I do--mix in some spices, taste a spoonful. Repeat if more spices are needed. And don't be afraid! It's really hard to get this particular sauce wrong!:
Cheap and Easy Pasta Sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (not sure about ounces, use a regular sized one as opposed to supersized. I like to use petite diced tomatoes sometimes for a less chunky sauce)
1 can tomato sauce or paste (depending on how thick you want your sauce)
Olive Oil (enough to coat the bottom of the skillet)
Minced garlic (I love garlic, I use heaping spoonfuls. Use as much or as little as you prefer) if you don't want to use minced garlic, you can always use a bit of Garlic Powder.
Red Pepper and White Pepper (optional, I love spiciness personally)
Salt
Basil
Oregano
1 Bay Leaf
(I promise you, most of these spices are in your kitchen already, and if they're not, they're cheap at your grocery store.)
Turn skillet or medium saucepan to low/medium heat. Heat the olive oil. Add garlic and simmer until it browns. Add cans of tomato substance, whisk to blend. Add all spices to taste, whisk to blend. Let simmer on low/medium heat for about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf (don't forget, bay leaves aren't edible!) Pour over pasta. Nom intensively.
 |
| And now I'm hungry. |
And that's all she wrote! All you need to do is pour in the tomatoes, spice to taste, and eat it. A third grader could do it. To make things a bit healthier, you can use wheat noodles, which I find delicious.
Enjoy!
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