[cocotbo]

When I make spaghetti sauce, it is more like an Italian stew than a sauce.
Oh, sure, I start out with something very light – Crushed Tomatoes with Italian herbs. Some people would just heat that up and call it Marinara, but not me! No, I put that in my crock pot and then add sliced mushrooms and chopped onions and bell peppers. This could still be considered a light sauce if that were all I added.


After the vegetables, I add the meat. I cook up some ground beef and hot Italian sausage and put that in the pot. I top it all off with lots of crushed garlic and some Italian Seasoning. By the time I’ve added all of my ingredients, my sauce doesn’t even need spaghetti. Heck, with this sauce, spaghetti is a garnish!


Funny thing about making a sauce so robust…some people just don’t like mushrooms. Not only mushrooms though. Some people are downright picky eaters! If you’ve invited some friends over for dinner and they don’t eat mushrooms then you’ve made all this sauce and they are left eating noodles and butter. Not exactly the way you want a dinner party to go.


So here is my solution. I’m having a casual dinner party and I’ll be making my sauce. I just won’t be mixing it. I’ll make a simple Marinara with the crushed tomatoes, garlic and herbs. Then I’ll pull out my covered dishes and fill them with sautéed onions, sautéed bell peppers, sautéed mushrooms, browned ground beef and cooked hot Italian sausage.


I’m going to have a spaghetti buffet.
If they just want vegetables in their sauce – super.
If they are carnivores – more power to ‘em.
It is actually a great way to make a simple meal look like a magnificent banquet. The things that will take me the longest to prepare are the pasta and the garlic bread and those only take a few minutes!


Consider it the next time you plan on entertaining a large group of people with diverse tastes.

[sfharper]

Oh, you're so good. I just cook my spaghetti in a frying pan after browning the hamburger. I add a small can of tomato sauce, another can of water, lemon pepper, basil, garlic, parsley, thyme, chopped carrots, mushrooms and zucchini and then let all the juice cook off. I'm not much of a tomato lover.

[seeemilywrite]

When I cooks spaghetti I cook the noodles, strain, then add Prego. If there was a sale at the grocery store I may add Classico...add some freshy grated paremesan and serve. You guys make me feel bad about myself

[fun2parent]

My kids love spaghetti and their table manners will reflect it! They love to slurp the noodles or before we add the sauce they discovered if you throw cooked noodles on the wall they stick! But I too usually add a jar of sauce and then just spice it up myself with some worchestershire, garlic powder, a hint of brown sugar, mushrooms and green pepper! My hubby says I make way too much spaghetti!