The Crazy Cooking Challenge is upon us again and this time around it’s spaghetti for the making. My heart sank a little when I saw that was the dish to prepare this month.
I know a lot of people absolutely love spaghetti but Joel and I just aren’t big fans of red sauce. It’s one of those meals that I really have to be in the mood to eat. And then it has to have ground beef or Italian sausage which sadly are off limits for the next 31 days.
This no meat thing has been hard, not as hard as I thought it would be but still difficult. I can’t get bacon off my brain. Mmmm, bacon. Ok, so I got distracted…back to the post.
I wanted to find an easy, weeknight option that would still be tasty without meat. I have made a one-pot spaghetti from a cookbook many times that is very similar and really enjoyed it so I figured that this would be a winner.
I searched around the blog world and found this recipe over at Recipe Shoebox. And oh my gosh, I am so glad I stumbled upon it! There are some recipes that sound incredible…just look at the dessert index, it is ridiculous in such a good way!
This spaghetti was a great, easy meal that was done in about 25 minutes (if you make it with ground beef or sausage it will take a bit longer). You can’t beat that. And the ingredient list was all staples that I always have in my pantry. I was a little worried that adding that much water would dilute the sauce but it was surprisingly tomato-y and flavorful. I might even add more basil next time around but I kind of have a thing for basil.
Make sure to check out everyone’s awesome spaghetti recipes at the linky tool link below!
- 1 lb. ground beef or ground sausage (I left this out since we aren't eating meat right now)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large can (32-ounces) chicken broth (4 cups)
- 3 cups water
- 2 cans (6-ounces each) tomato paste
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 box (12-ounces) dried spaghetti, broken
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- In a large saucepan cook the ground beef and/or sausage, onion, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain. Or, if making this vegetarian like I did, add a little olive oil to a large saucepan and saute onion and garlic until tender.
- Stir in the broth, water, tomato paste, oregano, basil, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the broken spaghetti, a little at a time, stirring constantly. Return to a boil; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, for 17-20 minutes or until spaghetti is tender and sauce is of the desired consistency, stirring frequently. Serve with Parmesan cheese.