Tired of Spaghetti Sauce!

Chop Roma Tomatoes, Fresh Garlic (about 2 cloves, minced), Olive Oil, Fresh Basil (chopped), and Fresh Mozz (bite size pieces) - Mix, serve cold on top of hot pasta - delicious!

In skillet, heat chopped tomatoes (5 or 6 romas), 1 jar artichokes (with a little of the juice from the jar), green onion, a little olive oil, and two cloves garlic - heat only about 5 minutes or so, serve with tortellini or ravioli - YUM!

I make a cheater-type of carbonera that my family goes crazy over. It's definitely not healthy, but it is absolutely delicious. We call it Chicken Carbone:

1/2 lb bacon
1lb boneless chicken, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 can petite diced tomatoes, partially drained
2 jars alfredo sauce (I use Ragu, it's the cheapest & will be mixed with plenty of other ingredients so no sense using the pricey type)
1/2-3/4 cup white wine
1lb pasta, any type you like, I usually use either vermacelli or penne

In large pan cook bacon until crispy. Remove & drain on paper towels. In bacon grease (I drain most of it depending on the brand I used) cook onions & chicken until meat is no longer pink. Add mushrooms, alfredo (I swish the wine in the empty alfredo jars to get the rest of the sauce out), wine, & tomatoes. Cook on medium 10-15 minutes to heat through & blend flavors. Serve over pasta & top with crumbled bacon. Yumm-ola!

Pesto! Fresh Basil, garlic, parm cheese and olive oil.

I have an easy mushroom cream sauce:

Fry up some mushrooms, onions and garlic in about 2 Tbsp of butter, then whisk in about 2 Tbsp on flour to make a paste. Let it cook a little so that the flour doesn't taste raw. Then slowly add enough cream to make the sauce as thick as you want, whisking the whole time to prevent lumps. Throw in a little parm if you like, and season to taste with S&P. Pour it over pasta and top with a generous sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.

Greek- pulse olives, feta, oregano and olive oil in your food processor until roughly chopped, add to warm pasta.
Mexican - pulse corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, celantro and lime.
Thai - pulse peanut butter, peanuts, olive oil, soy sauce, red chilli flakes, and lime.

Knorr Pesto sauce mix.
1 packet. Done.
:)

(There are other sauces in that same line.)

I have a great sauce that I make that is loaded with vits, fiber and flavor it does take time to make and it makes alot to either freeze ( my choice) or can.

1 med onion
5 carrots peeled and grated
2 red or yellow pepper chopped
2 zuchinne grated with peel
2 leeks cleaned and rough chopped
2 cans whole tomatoes (I get a seasoned brand)
1.5 cans of water
2 celery stalkes rough chopped
1 butternut or any squash you like peeled of skin and rough chopped
3 tbs olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 tbs dries orageno

med heat
in large pot add evoo
onions, carrots, leeks, peppers, do not brown you just want them to sweat it out for a few.
then add the rest of the ingrediants and let simmer (med/low) for about a half hour or until everything is tender.
remove from heat
either use a stick blender or a blender/food processor with lid (in batches of course).
pour back in pot and bring it to a nice low boil for about 20 mins
let cool add to zip bags or can (while still very hot)

We like to make this with ground beef over rice or noodles it does make a big batch so its eay to pull out for later and make a quick meal.

Boil some Roma tomatoes until the skin is about to peel off. Dump them in ice water immediately after boiling, then skin and de-seed the tomatoes. Save the extra juice from the seeding. Dice the tomatoes and mix them with your pasta and the remaining juice - stir in some basil, oregano, garlic and olive oil (and capers, if you are a fan - I am!). Oh, and cheese of course.

mix half marinara with half alfredo...so good! My husbands mom made spaghetti all the time so he hates it. When I make it, this is how I do it and it tastes different and really good. Everyone loves it. Good luck!

I have recipe from a Cooking Light cookbook for a really yummy chunky tomato sauce. First you saute some onion and garlic in a little olive oil, then you add in 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Simmer about 15-20 minutes then add chopped fresh parsley, stir and serve! This recipe is so great, and it can be served many ways. I use it for chicken parm, spaghetti, and I double it and add ground beef for lasagna. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Do this instead! You'll need a blender...

Take 1 jar of your fav alfredo sauce (I like the 4 cheese kind)
1 jar roasted red peppers
I think 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1 tsp crushed red pepper

Blend it, heat it like you would marinara sauce, mix it with your pasta :)

I also like throwing some spinach and sauce in the mix too :)

1) Heat up some EVOO in a pan with some minced onion and garlic, add pasta and sprinkle some dried herbs (oregano, thyme) and give it a good toss. I also add some cut up veggies like zucchini, carrots and broccoli.

2) Heat up some EVOO again, add pasta, add about a cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup mozzerella and 1/2 cup parmesean. Simmer for about 30 mins until cream thickens to consistency of alfredo sauce. You can add whatever meat or veggies if you want.

hth

Chop up an onion, green pepper and if you like, celery. Saute in a pan until the onions are clear. Add 1.5 lbs of ground beef and brown in the onion and green pepper. Drain off the grease.

Then transfer to a pot and mix in 2 cans of condensed tomato soup and 12-oz of tomato paste. Add 2 tomato soup cans of water and then the onion, green pepper and ground beef mix. Season to taste, I usually add minced garlic, onion salt, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. I also add a bit of sugar to cut the salt.

I think that's the easiest meat sauce recipe I know!

Our daughter made this last night. It was delicious.. any pasta will work..
She served it warm and we used some cooked chicken we had in the fridge.

We did not have all of the ingredients so she substituted,
1 TBLS Peanut butter instead of the tahini..
And she did not make the "White puree"..

http://www.thesneakychef.com/free_recipe_cold_sesame_nood...

- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste), well-stirred
- 1 cup White Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe #4)
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 pound Asian noodles or thin spaghetti, ideally whole wheat, freshly cooked
- Optional extra boost: 3 green onions, thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds; and/or sliced cucumber strips

> In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, tahini, White Puree, vinegar, and garlic. Add red pepper flakes to taste.

> Put the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the sauce over the pasta, tossing to coat the pasta evenly. Garnish with sliced green onions, cucumber, and sesame seeds, if using. Refrigerate until cool, or feel free to serve it warm.

My hubby's favorite pasta sauce takes 3 ingredients- broccoli stalks, real butter & garlic salt.
Peel the woody outside off the broccoli stalks (we have a large family, so I use about 2 large bunches worth) and cut into 1" pieces. Boil in about 1 cup of water until very soft. Pour into blender (I usually only add a little bit of the water at a time until it's the thinkness I want). While the blender is going add FROZEN real, unsalted butter 1 tablespoon at a time (for the amount I make I use between 1/4 & 1/2 c butter) until it looks creamy. Add the garlic salt in to taste. It's really fast, ummy and easy. When I make it I usually end up making about 8 cups of it (did I mention I have a large family? :-) ) I usually cut up the left over crowns into small florettes and add them to the pasta the last few minutes of cooking so they are bright green and a little soft. Good luck.

Wow what great ideas/recipes here, I am surprised no one mentioned alfredo sauce.

Chicken penne pesto:
This is one of my family faves, we use mini penne noodles as opposed to the bigger ones and cook some garlic bread:) It is quick and easy!! Leftovers are just as good too.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/penne-with-chicken-and-pesto...

I use an alfredo sauce sometimes. I add mushrooms and onions and meat and especially crushed garlic. Makes a wonderful white sauce for spaghetti.

Good luck to you and yours.