When we were kids, my mom made spaghetti pretty often. Who could blame her? She had eight children! I always loved these spaghetti dinners partly because the pasta was always accompanied by buttery, garlicky bread and a big green salad. Mom made her own sauce, which she simmered on the back of the stove for several hours — and no, there’s no Italian heritage on either side of my family, but my mother was from a generation that cooked everyday and didn’t think much about how long something took. It was what it was.
But those days are over! I don’t think I have made spaghetti sauce for decades. I know how and would enjoy the time spent in the warm, aromatic kitchen but with commercial brands of
Italian sauce so good, why bother? I sometimes “doctor” them up with a little extra chopped garlic, oregano, red wine or red wine vinegar and olive oil. I sometimes don’t. These sauces are great on strand pasta and also when you want to make a casserole such as lasagna or stuffed shells. I pour mushroom-flavored sauce into a skillet of ground beef for a quick, sloppy joe type meal, or cheesy Italian sauce into a casserole of ziti, broccoli, and cooked, chopped chicken. The possibilities are, as they say, endless. Quick, healthful meals. Even my mother would approve!
