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Making stuff from scratch isn`t always what it`s cracked up to be, but that doesn`t mean you have to forfeit good taste and great food. Today, you`ll learn how to take an ordinary packet of premade spaghetti sauce and turn it into something that everyone will swear is homemade.
What You`ll Need:
1 package (about 1 cup) of pasta sauce, any kind
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon fresh basil
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. beef consomme
Fry the onions up in a little oil in a large frying pan until they are transluscent. Add the remaining ingredients. Heat through and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve atop pasta!
Pretty simple, right? Well, it gets even better. If you`re feeling adventurous, add some ground beef (1/2 lb. is perfect) to the onion cooking stage and once it`s brown, you can add the remaining ingredients.
Your kids hate veggies, but will eat pasta with sauce? Get sneaky and use the finest holes on your grater to add a carrot into the sauce. Once it`s cooked in, they`ll never notice. You can also wilt a cup of spinach, chard or other green in a little water and then blend it into a puree which can be stirred into the pasta sauce. Extra nutrition that doesn`t show up!
Other variations:
- Chunky Veggie Sauce: Add cubes of carrot, chopped cauliflower and broccoli, etc. to the onion cooking stage. You may need to add a little water to keep the veggies from sticking. Once they are semi-tender, add the remaining ingredients.
- Tofu Delight: Start the recipe by mixing the packaged sauce with the consomme (you could also use vegetable consomme for a vegetarian dish) and crumble half a package of firm tofu into the mixture. Let it marinate while you cook the onions, then dump everything into the frying pan.
- Dollar Stretcher Pasta Sauce: Make the pasta sauce go further by adding a can of tomato paste, plus two cans of water. Instead of fresh basil, use dried basil, thyme or parsley flakes, one teaspoon is fine. You can also use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic, if you don`t have it.
- Creamy Tomato Pasta Sauce: Cook as directed above, but just before you take the sauce off the heat, stir in half a cup of cream. You may dilute this with milk, if you find the sauce is too thick.
Using a premade food item as the base of a meal is something that makes life a lot easier. While you could make pasta sauce from scratch, it isn`t always possible and to be honest, it might even intimidate some women. But don`t worry, with this method, you can have several different “homemade” sauces that will delight friends and family and it`s super simple!
Tags: pasta, pasta sauce
