swift spaghetti

i have adapted this recipe from taste of home magazine. yes, i subscribe to a cooking magazine. i've even checked out past copies of taste of home from the library.

yeah, something might be wrong with me.

i love spaghetti. i love pasta. even better - my kids love it, so it makes me happy to know that i'm slaving over something they'll love. i recently tried this recipe out and took half of it to my fabulous sister-in-law to feed her family, as she had just had surgery. while my first go-round with this recipe wasn't fabulous, the second one was much better.

this is awesome and can be made on a weeknight AFTER work - serve with bagged salad and store bought garlic bread and it's DINNER.

swift spaghetti

*8 oz. dry spaghetti noodles
*5 1/2 cups water
*1 pkg. onion soup mix

*1 - 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
*1 6-oz. can tomato paste
*1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
*1 tsp. basil
*1/2 tsp. oregano
*1 T parsley
*salt and pepper

in a large pot, bring the water to a boil. make sure you measure it; you won't be draining the spaghetti. when the water boils, add the onion soup mix and the spaghetti. i never buy a pkg. of spaghetti that small, so (don't cringe) i usually just eyeball what 8 oz. is. ha ha ha. cook the spaghetti according to package directions, about 12 mins. stir occasionally to keep the spaghetti from sticking the bottom of the pot. or do what dumb asses like i am do and use non-stick cookware. stir it anyway, ok?

when you put the water on to boil, in a separate skillet, brown the ground beef. i usually use very lean ground beef, so i don't drain it, but if you use 80-20, you'll want to drain the hamburger. sesaon with salt and pepper while the beef cooks. after you drain it, add the spices and the tomato paste and sauce. stir well to combine, keep warm.

when the spaghetti is cooked (almost all of the water should be absorbed...) stir the meat mixture into the noodles. heat through and serve. you'll seriously have this on your table in less than 30 minutes.

fettuccine alfredo

warning: this recipe is not low fat. if you are on a diet, just quit reading now. close your laptop and walk away.

paul loves alfredo sauce, but he also was blessed with this freaky metabolism...i can't eat this very often, so it's a special treat at our house. it's pretty easy to make and totally yummy. add grilled chicken or shrimp if you want to serve with meat.

fettuccine alfredo

*1 12-oz. package fettuccine noodles, cooked and drained (do not rinse!!)

now for the sauce:

1 stick butter (um, do i need to point out NO MARGARINE!?)
1 pint heavy whipping cream (can use half and half)
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 3-oz. package cream cheese, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup parmesan cheese (i prefer the shredded over the kind in the can)
salt and pepper to taste

in a medium saucepan, melt butter and cream cheese together. add the garlic and combine well. stir in cream and simmer for 15-20 mins. do not boil. add the parmesan cheese, mix well and simmer for another 10-15 mins. keep the heat fairly low; otherwise the cheese may burn on the bottom of the pan. stir occasionally. sesaon with salt and pepper. the longer this cooks, the better it is, but you can adjust the cook time based on your schedule. this is also totally awesome (did i really just say totally awesome??) with breadsticks.

toss with cooked fettuccine noodles. remember me saying not to rinse them? rinsing noodles is a common mistake many people make. NOT rinsing them allows the sauce to stick to the pasta. usually you rinse pasta for cold pasta salads. however, you shouldn't rinse spaghetti that is going to be coated in sauce - or it will make the sauce watery.

serve. your family will love you.

p.s. you are supposed to use white pepper, but who has that in their cupboard? black pepper is fine.