SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE AND VEGETABLES

SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE AND VEGETABLES

DINNER AT HOME

There are those days when I work eleven hours, pick up my daughter from school and get home and try to take an hour walk.  That does not leave a lot of time to prep or cook a meal especially when I did not plan or buy anything at the store. On this night,  I basically looked into the refrigerator and tried to use whatever we have.  I found some frozen ground beef and a little pork in the freezer so I thought some kind of a meat sauce would be good.  We had those big bags of Celery, Bell Peppers and Carrots that you buy at Costco so I wanted to use them up and incorporate them into the sauce.  I always keep a good supply of Bertolli Tomato and Basil Sauce in our pantry as it is simply the best tasting sauce in a jar that we have found.  It is super inexpensive too with three jar packages now being sold at Sam's Club for around $7. This is less than $2.50 per jar.  This dish takes just minutes to prepare and it is delicious and very inexpensive.  Made enough sauce to feed a family of three for at least three days.

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SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE AND VEGETABLES

ONIONS, GARLIC, CELERY AND BELL PEPPERS (I ADDED CARROTS TOO)

SAUTE ONIONS AND GARLIC IN OLIVE OIL

ADD IN THE GROUND BEEF AND PORK AND COOK  

THROW IN ALL OF THE VEGETABLES AND STIR.  I ALSO ADD SALT, PEPPER AND OREGANO HERE

HEAT UNTIL THE VEGETABLES ARE ABOUT HALF WAY COOKED.  I LIKE A LITTLE CRUNCH IN MY VEGGIES AND THEY COOK THROUGH WHILE SIMMERING IN THE SAUCE

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BERTOLLI SAUCES.  THEY ARE DELICIOUS AND SAVE TIME

ADD TWO JARS OF BERTOLLI SAUCE

STIR THOROUGHLY AND SIMMER FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES

SERVE WITH A LITTLE ITALIAN PARSLEY AND GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE

SHRIMP VODKA PASTA

SHRIMP VODKA PASTA

DINNER AT HOME

Made a really delicious Shrimp Vodka Pasta for dinner.  This was really good dish that I highly recommend you try at home.  The recipe is fast and easy.  I started by chopping up lots of garlic.  Used half to marinate the shrimp and half to sauté and add to sauce.  Marinated the shrimp in chopped garlic and some Italian Salad Dressing that we had in the refrigerator.  Chopped up some shallots and sautéed them in olive oil with the remaining garlic.  Added 1/3 cup of good vodka and cooked for little over one minute.  Added Bertolli Tomato and Basil Sauce along with some heavy creme, salt, pepper and fresh thyme.  Let the sauce simmer on low while I cooked the shrimp in a separate pan.  Made sure that I did not overcook the shrimp as they were to finish cooking in the sauce.  Added the shrimp to the sauce and served with spaghetti.  This was restaurant quality good.  My wife said she would order this in a restaurant over and over again.

Note:  You really do not need to marinate the shrimp.  There is enough flavor in the sauce if you don't have the extra time.

SHRIMP VODKA PASTA

SAUTE SHALLOTS AND GARLIC IN A LITTLE OLIVE OIL.
ADD 1/3 CUP OF VODKA AND COOK FOR ONE MINUTE

ADD 1 1/2 CUPS OF BERTOLLI TOMATO AND BASIL SAUCE,
1/4 CUP OF CREME, FRESH TYME, SALT AND PEPPER

MARINATED THE RAW SHRIMP IN CHOPPED GARLIC
AND A BIT OF ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING FOR ONE HOUR.
COOKED THE SHRIMP IN A SEPARATE PAN UNTIL SLIGHTLY
UNDERCOOKED.  THEN ADDED THEM TO THE SAUCE TO FINISH

SHRIMP VODKA PASTA

SHRIMP AND CALAMARI PASTA

SHRIMP AND CALAMARI PASTA

DINNER AT HOME

When we saw frozen cleaned Calamari on sale at the market, I had to come up with a recipe to incorporate this into a dish.  Keli wanted pasta so I came up with a vegetable seafood combination that was actually pretty delicious.  I sauteed onion, bell pepper, carrots and celery in chopped garlic and olive oil until it was just slightly undercooked.  I then poured the vegetable mixture into a jar of Bertolli Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce so the vegetables could finish cooking in the sauce.  I have made my own pasta sauce for years and have also tried expensive restaurant brands in a jar.  There is no better jar sauce than Bertolli.  It really is good.  While the sauce heated, I sauteed Shrimp and Calamari in garlic and olive oil.  I made sure not to overcook the seafood because it was going right into the sauce with vegetables.  Everything warmed to perfection and then was tossed with spaghetti.  This dish exceeded my expectations and will be cooked again and again.