Working a full-time job and then coming home to take care of a family takes a lot out of you. Anytime I cook, I try to keep the prep and cook time to a minimum. I knew I had all the ingredients to make spaghetti – the same way I’ve been making it for years – but I found a recipe for a quick & easy pasta with meat sauce in the January ‘13 issue of Woman’s Day magazine that I thought I’d try. Their recipe was on the cover of the magazine and it just looked so YUMMY. Of course, I didn’t have all the ingredients needed for their recipe, so I made a few adjustments and used what I had on hand. It definitely tasted different from my usual pasta, but we all loved it! A nice alternative to your usual rotation.
This recipe called for more ingredients than I typically like to use, but don’t be intimidated! This only took about 35 minutes from start to finish, so it’s definitely an easy meal.
While the pasta was cooking (according to the package directions), I started on the meat sauce. I added the onion & carrots to the pan first to make sure they got nice and soft. I then added the meat to brown (seasoned with the white wine, Adobo, and a little salt & pepper) and then the other dry spices and diced tomatoes.
Stir in the pasta and top with a little parmesan cheese. And that’s it! Told ya it was quick and easy!
The cinnamon & nutmeg definitely give this a different flavor from my usual pasta – my mom thought it tasted Greek. :) Give it a try sometime!
- 16 oz spaghetti or other long pasta
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 small/medium onions, chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Adobo (optional)
- 15 baby carrots, finely diced
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 lb ground turkey
- ¼ cup dry white wine (I used Chardonnay)
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- Cook the pasta according to directions on package.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, covered, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and garlic and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- While the vegetables cook, combine the ground turkey and wine in a medium bowl and break up the turkey with a spoon. (Lightly season with Adobo – optional.)
- Add the turkey mixture to the vegetables, increase the heat to medium-high and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until the liquid has evaporated and the meat begins to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the red pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Add the tomatoes and tomato paste to the skillet and simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Stir, toss with the pasta and serve.
[...] Comments 0 Working a full-time job and then coming home to take care of a family takes a lot out of you. Anytime I cook, I try to keep the prep and cook time to a minimum. I knew I had all the ingredients to make spaghetti – the same way I’ve been making it for …read more [...]