Good ol' classic spaghetti

I've shunned spaghetti for the past few years of my life.

It's too easy.

Too simple.

Too quick.

Too many leftovers, leaving me less opportunities to cook.

Too easy to please my husband.

Then it occurred to me this afternoon...

...this is freaking genius

Why I haven't cooked this classic in so long is beyond comprehension. And before you judge me for posting something so simple...

...well, I had a middle-aged woman come up to me at church and say that my recipes have saved her marriage. I don't believe her...because that would worry me.

That's way too much pressure for a part-time blogger.

So let's just do this for fun, shall we?

What you'll need:
Ground beef or turkey (1lb)
1 large jar of your choice of spaghetti sauce
Milk (yes, you read that correctly)
Garlic
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Butter (yes, you need butter, too)
1 package of spaghetti noodles
Salt/pepper
Italian seasoning

Throw a little bit of olive oil over medium/high heat and toss the pound of beef/turkey into the pan.

Let's do some seasoning. Add some salt, pepper, and italian seasoning.

Smash it all up with a wooden spoon.

Aren't you loving all these closeups of raw meat?

Now, we of course have to add some garlic. Normally I would say put two or three minced garlic cloves in with the meat; however...

Is that not the largest clove of garlic you've ever seen? I like my veggies on steroids.


Just like my men.

Moving on.

Add the minced garlic and continue to stir it over medium high heat. It should take about 10 minutes to cook thoroughly.

Throw the noodles into boiling water.

Toss the sauce into a pan over medium heat. We're going to do some doctoring.

Throw in a handful of mozzarella.

Add more minced garlic...

...about half a cup of milk.

...and 2 tbsp. of butter.

The reason we do this is to add some creaminess to the sauce. You could just eat the sauce straight up, but I like more of a vodka sauce coloring. Just without the vodka.

Amen.

While the sauce is simmering, check out your meat. Now, obviously mine's done, and if you have anything except super lean meat, you need to drain it. I won't be doing that because I have seriously lean meat and it had virtually no fat.

Well, hardly any.

Drain your noodles.

Pour the sauce in with the meat.

Mmmmmmmm.

Aren't you glad you added in the milk and butter?

Now a tip for any sauce that has meat in it, the longer it can sit on low heat and simmer, the richer it'll taste. That's just the way it is. I let mine sit for about 20 minutes, but I know people who let it sit all day.

If you have that kind of time, God bless you.

Another thing my husband is completely opposed to is combining the meat sauce with the noodles in one pan. He claims it makes the noodles soggy.

So there you are, folks. A funky twist to an old favorite.

Enjoy, all!

Love,
Rachael