Spaghetti and Garlic Toast

Alright it's that time again, for another super simple recipe! Today it is my all time favorite food, something I've been in love with for as long as I can remember and for me at least, there is nothing better.....Spaghetti!!! And also a really great, super fast way to do some home made garlic toast! :)  Really it's the sauce we're making from scratch here. If you need detailed instructions on how to boil noodles I worry for you, haha! but go a head and read this there is a brief description on cooking noodles, most all are the same as far as it goes so have at I'd say :) .  I actually got this sauce recipe from my Momma, back when I was in Jr. High school. I've tweeked and altered it over the years to suit my tastes and those of others, etc. So lets get cooking!!!

Ingredients:

1. 1 Box of spaghetti noodles
2. 1 pound of hamburger (optional)
3. Two 29oz cans of tomato sauce and One 15oz can
4. Oregano, Basil, Thyme, and Rosemary
5. Soy sauce (don't knock it till you try it)
6. Garlic (two cloves or already minced)
7. 1 green pepper, or red pepper flakes

So to kick things off go a head and start boiling the water for the noodles. This is literally the longest process so start it first, or possibly even several minuets before you start anything else, depending on your time allowance. Bust out a second large sauce pan where you'll cook p the burger and make the sauce. Got it? Okay ready now? Lets get started!

• Cook up the one pound of burger in the pan, getting it chopped up nice and fine till almost all of it is nice and brown. (if you prefer meatless skip this step :) )

• Open up all three cans of sauce and add them to the pot with the burger. Mix it all gently together, making sure all of the meat is mixed in well.

• Next you want to crush up two cloves of fresh garlic, OR use about the same amount from a jar of pre-minced garlic. Add it into the center of the pot and stir in well. It will separate on it's own and flavor all areas of the sauce.

• I like a lot of oregano in my sauce, it really is my go to herd here. Sprinkle on the oregano liberally, covering the top of the sauce really well. 

• BEFORE stirring the oregano in, sprinkle on the basil. I suggest using about 1/3 the amount of basil you use of oregano. If you take a look at the image above and the image below, you'll see what I mean about the proportions.

• Now you can slowly stir in the oregano and basil, it's kinda fun to watch it slowly vanish into the sauce, and you'll really start to smell the yummie goodness too!
• After it's all blended in, it is time to add in the rosemary. You don't nee a lot of this pine needle looking herb. Just a small enough pinch to fill the hollow in the palm of your hand (see image below). Once you have it in your hand use your fingertips to crunch it all up, essentially you'll be breaking each needle into two or three pieces, but that's all you need.

• Stir it all in, and then lightly dust the sauce with thyme. It'll smell a bit like Christmas, but it won't last for long.

• Once everything has been blended together, you add the soy sauce. You only need one maybe two small splashes of the soy sauce. Any more than that and you're risking the sauce tasting really salty. If that happened, use the oregano and more garlic to balance it out.

• Blend in the soy sauce really well, I suggest stirring for at least a 30 seconds to make sure it really is spread out evenly.
• By this time your water should be oiling and you should have added your spaghetti noodles to it to cook.
• Back to the sauce, this is where we throw in our pepper. Normally I would cut up a fresh bell green pepper, tossing out the seed and insides, and slicing it up to about half inch sections. Freeze the rest for later use in another sauce and toss in two or three pepper slices. They don't make it hot, but add just the right amount of zip to it.
• If you are unable to use green pepper for whatever reason, red pepper flakes (the kind I use in the Orange Chicken) are a great substitute, just sprinkle in a small spoon full and lightly dust the sauce with some black pepper (see image below) The combination has the exact same effect as the fresh/frozen green bell peppers do.

• Once it's all been mixed in, give it a small taste (remember it's hot!) If it is there is too much garlic, or too much salt, or whatever, play around with the herbs to balance it out to how you like it. The great thing about the sauce is it's ability to be customized! Make it your own!
• When you have everything to taste, go a head and let it simmer on low until the noodles are finished. It shouldn't be too long now.

While We Wait...

Let's go a head and make some quick garlic toast. All you need is bread, a toaster, butter or margin, and garlic salt (not garlic powder! For the love of all that is holy please listen to me and do not use garlic powder you will regret it! HAHAHA)

• Put the bread in the toaster and prep the ingredients.

• When the toast pops up, and while still hot, spread out the butter/margin
• Next very lightly coat the buttered toast in garlic salt. You don't need a lot.

That's it, you're finished. By this time your noodles should bet completely cooked, and ready to serve, grab a plate, dish up, add your garlic toast and some Parmesan to top it off and dinner is served!

LEFTOVERS!!!!! One of my favorite things to eat (after a fresh hot spaghetti meal) is cold leftover spaghetti  smothered in an offensively large amount of Parmesan cheese. I don't know why but its SO good. And heated up, this sauce tasted drastically different after being in the fridge over night. It's like a totally different meal. And unless you're feeding a lot of people, you'll at the very least have left over sauce, considering how much tomato sauce went into it!

Who will like this:

• Everyone! I honestly do not know anybody who doesn't like spaghetti. I won't say everyone loves it, but I've never had someone turn it down before if you know what I mean. It's a great classic, and fun to eat. Perfect for large dinner parties since it's just so damn easy to make more! So serve it up anytime to anyone and ENJOY!!!

That's all I have for you for tonight my loves! Enjoy the meal and keep you're eyes open for some short "bonus" recipes directly from the lovely members of the Simple Cooking Facebook group! Please come join us, check us out and share your own recipes! Thanks for reading!

~Alex~