Recipe # 22 Day 22

Day 22 of 30
Easy-Does-It Spaghetti

I wasn't sure how this was going to taste, but to my surprise, I really liked the flavor of the sauce. Now, keep in mind, I'm usually one to buy the spaghetti sauce out of the jar so any homemade recipe would probably be a step up for me. I loved how easy it was and how there were no pans left over to clean up except for a pan to brown the meat. I thought this was really good and I'll certainly do it again. My kids really liked it too, ate everything up without talking. That's usually a good sign that they like it.

2 lbs. ground chuck, browned, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce
3 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 4 oz. can of sliced mushrooms, drained
6 cups tomato juice
16 oz. dry spaghetti, broken into 4-5 inch pieces (I used the healthy harvest kind)
grated Parmesan cheese (I used the pre-shredded parm. chz in the pkg., liked it)

Brown meat, rinse and drain. (I don't normally use ground chuck 80/20 but I think it really added to the overall flavor).
Combine all ingredients except spaghetti and cheese in slow cooker.
Cover. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours.
Turn on HIGH the last 30 minutes of cooking and add dry spaghetti broken into 4-5 inch pieces. Stir gently into sauce. If spaghetti is not fully cooked after 30 minutes, allow to cook for 10 minutes intervals till done.
Using slotted spoon, portion onto plates and top with parmesan cheese. I found the sauce a little on the runny side so the slotted spoon worked well. Or it you like the sauce thinner, serve in a bowl.

Sometimes, Italian food tastes even better the next day. I think this is definitely going to be the case with this. I am truly surprised that I liked this as much as I did. The 6 cups of tomato juice is what had me wondering.
Also, I loved not having to use an extra pan to boil the noodles, nice step removed from a spaghetti dinner.

Update: This is my NEW spaghetti recipe. I just loved it and my family was disappointed that we couldn't have it for leftovers a 2nd night. Meaning, 3 nights in a row ! I HAVE NEVER HEARD THAT !!

Approx. cost: $15.00

Bon' Appetit'