Mangia!

Yesterday was a dreary day in Ormond, a bit chilly and overcast. Beren and I intended to go out for some live music & cocktails in the evening, but in the meantime I figured I'd spend my morning in the kitchen.

As I've mentioned before, Beren's children are rather fussy eaters so when they are visiting I tend to cook differently. They tend to eat very plainly, don't like spice, etc. which is rather difficult for this hot mama! *wink*

Since everyone loves Italian, I'm going to experiment with a vintage pasta recipe from My Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, copyright 1940. Here's the original:


Italian Spaghetti

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4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 medium onion -- chopped
4 cloves garlic
21 ounces tomato puree
24 ounces tomato paste -- or Spanish sauce
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 pound ground beef
2 pounds spaghetti -- long and very thin

Cook first five ingredients until onions are soft. Add tomato puree, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Add meat, browned in fat. Slowly simmer 3 hours.

Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water; rinse in hot water; drain. Place on warm platter; pour over sauce; sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 8.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 831 Calories; 30g Fat (32.1% calories from fat); 29g Protein; 114g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 1089mg Sodium.

Oh, heavens! Butter plus oil plus fat plus beef? Look at those calories and fat grams! Whoa!



So, here's what I did. First, delete the butter and most of the olive oil. Using a nonstick pan eliminates the need for so much grease. I understand that Teflon wasn't used yet so homemakers had little choice, fortunately we have more options nowadays!

Also, when I started chopping the onion I realized that their "medium" sized onions might not be as large as we have today so I cut that amount in half which was the perfect amount.




Of course I used veggie crumbles instead of beef, and Ronzoni Smart Taste® pasta to make it a bit healthier. Then, when everything was blended nicely, I used my slow cooker to simmer all day while Beren and I went out to play!




Italian Spaghetti Redux

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1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 medium onion -- chopped
4 cloves garlic
21 ounces tomato puree
24 ounces tomato paste -- or Spanish sauce
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
12 ounces Morningstar Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Crumbles
2 pounds ronzoni Smart Taste® Thin Spaghetti

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 129 Calories; 2g Fat (14.2% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 983mg Sodium.



The Verdict: Well, first of all, while this sauce had a very nice flavor, it was a bit thick for my taste. Next time I'll probably add another can of puree just to think it out a bit. Also, this would make 8 very generous portions! I only cooked 1 pound of pasta and it served 4 of us with at least another serving leftover! Overall, a really easy dish and definitely one I'd make again!

Enjoy!