Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

I LOVE Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.  I think it’s because it was one of our staple weeknight meals.  It is just the ultimate comfort food to me.  It was really exciting when I figured out how to make it clean.  It is now one of my girls favorite weeknight meals.  The funny thing is, I use zoodles, spaghetti squash or brown rice pasta as noodles.  I try to stick to the first two since they are much better for you but sometimes, you just need a noodle. 

 

The recipes is enough for one box of noodles or more.  It makes a lot.  That’s one thing I love about it.  It’s a meal that keeps on giving.  I can pack it in my kids lunches the next day or freeze half the sauce for a day when I don’t feel like cooking. 

 

What’s even better is it’s a one to two pot meal.  One for the sauce and one for the noodles.  So clean-up is easy-peasy.

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2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Tomato Paste

2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar (with-the-mother)

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

12 ounces ground meat (organic turkey or beef)

1 (14.5 – ounce) can organic diced tomatoes

1 (14.5 – ounce) can organic tomato sauce

2-4 cups Water or Bone Broth

For the “Spaghetti” – You have Options….

1. Use Quinoa Pasta – This has more protein

2. Use Brown Rice Pasta – It actually tastes great & I don’t even notice the difference.

3. Use Zucchini Noodles – This is your best bet!! I have a spiralizer (Here’s the one I love), you can just use them fresh or roast them with a little bit of olive oil.

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1. If you are using pasta, place a large pot of water on the stove to boil & add salt. You don’t want it overly salty but you do want a bit because this is the only flavor you are adding to the pasta itself. Like I said before, I recommend using zucchini noodles or a mixture of both.

2. To chop the carrots & onion, I just put them in a mini food processor. If you don’t have one, you can just chop them by hand BUT this will save you a bunch of time

3. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion & carrots & sauté for 8 minutes

4. Add the garlic & tomato paste & sauté for 1 minute. (Pro Tip: I will save the leftover tomato paste in 1-2 Tablespoon portions in the freezer. That way you don’t waste any and always have the right amount on hand. I find this is the typical amount used in any recipe)

5. Add vinegar & cook for 30 seconds

6. Add the oregano, salt, pepper & meat. Cook until the meat is well browned. Make sure to break up the meat so it’s turns into little pieces instead of big chunks. It makes for a better meat sauce

7. Stir in tomatoes, sauce AND water/bone broth. You are going to have to figure out how much you want/need to add. I like a thicker sauce so add less depending on how thick you would like the sauce. You really don’t have to add any at all if you don’t want to.

8. Bring to a boil & reduce the heat down to low. Let the sauce simmer for 10-30 minutes to let the flavors meld.

9. While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta if you are using it.

10. Once your pasta is done. Enjoy!!

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