Is it healthy if I eat it over wheat pasta?
**Warning, this is not necessarily a healthy meal, but its better than Ragu**
I love to cook when I have the time, and I've been cooking up a storm in my new Christmas Paula Deen pots and pans...seriously, if you need a new set, invest, or ask Santa, or the Three Kings...whomever you choose. Fair warning...I give recipes like my mother, so if you are looking for anything more precise than "some peppers" and "a little bit of salt" please go somewhere else. LOL. I also cannot tell you how many calories there are, or how many people it feeds. Make it your own...
Ingredients:
1 big can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of diced tomatoes
peppers and onions, diced (I cheated and got the frozen ones)
oregano
crushed red pepper
splenda or sugar
basil
Adobo and/or Badia Sazon Completa (or whatever "all purpose" seasoning you like)
salt
pepper
olive oil
garlic (jarred or even garlic powder)
Optional: Ground beef/ Meatballs (do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy lean meat, you need some of that fat/grease for flavor)
Directions:
If you are using meat (which I highly suggest), begin by browning and seasoning the meat. I used salt, pepper, Adobo and Sazon Completa. It's really to your taste. If using meatballs, they are probably already seasoned. If you can find a hometown, locally made meatball, BUY IT! When its done, cover it and put aside.
Next, get your big pot and put a little olive oil (seriously a tiny bit) and the peppers and onions in. Put the stove on low to medium. Let those get soft, and add your diced tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes down a little (maybe 3-5 min), sprinkle some basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper and then add your can of crushed tomatoes. Let that go for about 2-3 min and add your tomato paste. Make sure you get it all out of the can! Be sure to stir it in well. I would let this go for about 5 mins, and stir maybe twice. You want it to kind of "melt."
Finally, add your meat...and the grease too. Trust me. It will make a difference. If it makes you feel better, don't add all of it. (But don't throw it away, just in case you change your mind.)
Now, season to taste. Be careful with the crushed red pepper...unless you like a little hot/tangy. Put the stove on really low and just let it simmer. Stir it, and smell it. Taste it, tweak it, and then smell it again. Repeat as many times as you need.
If you or a loved one suffers with acid issues, add the splenda or sugar...it will cut the acidity a bit. You only need a little bit unless you like sweet sauce, which i hate!
Now, at some point in this process, you should be cooking your pasta.
Et Voila! You're done! Buen Provecho!
(it is a very hearty sauce, so prepare for food coma! its serious.....Don't believe me just watch!)
((That was for you Ceejay and Aaron...LOL))