Penne with Meat Sauce. aka Spaghetti sauce with different pasta.

Well tonight I get to give you an extremely basic recipe.  Cooking 101.

Spaghetti Sauce.

This is about as basic as I get people.  If I can muster up the energy to cook, but I still don't really want to cook, this is what is made 99% of the time. 

It's easy, it's satisfying, and most of the time I have ground beef in the freezer.

I don't think you're going to find anything fancy here, so if you're new to the kitchen, try this on for size.

Spaghetti Sauce
(I wouldn't know who to give credit to for this, maybe mom since this is close to the way she makes it)

Ingredients
1lb of ground beef
1can of tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste
4 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup of red wine (I used water tonight because we didn't have any wine around)
2 bay leaves

1 tbsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1.  Brown the ground beef in a pot on medium heat.  If there's a ton of fat drain that off.

2.  Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two.

3.  Add the bay leaves and oregano and mix until well combined.  Make sure to break up the ground beef well so you have even small pieces and not large chunks.

4. When the beef is completely browned add the tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Mix it all together until the texture is uniform and you can't see any more chunks of tomato paste. 

5.  Mix in the red wine, turn the heat down to low and let everything simmer for 20 minutes to half an hour stirring occasionally. 

6.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve atop your favorite type of pasta.  Tonight we had penne.

If you're really on top of it, you can boil your pasta first in the same pot you use for the sauce.  Less dishes that way!!  Just make sure that when the pasta is drained you toss it with some extra virgin olive oil so it doesn't stick together.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father,

  please keep everyone safe amid all the "Occupy _____" protests.   Please help all the elected officials in these countries to do what is just and right.  Amen.