Cooking it up,  MAMs (Make Ahead Meals)

Spaghetti With Daj

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Who doesn’t love a nice bowl of spaghetti? It’s delicious, filling, and can be adjusted to suit the needs of vegans, those with celiac, and even those following a low carb diet. There are so many great recipes out there, and today I wanted to share mine with all of you! Don’t worry, if you need to make an adjustment such as substituting pasta noodles for zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash noodles, or even omitting the meat; this recipe is versatile. Make it your own, through adaptation to suit your needs. This spaghetti recipe is also great when it comes to make ahead meals or “MAMs” as I like to call them, since it’s:
◦ filling
◦ quick and easy to make
◦ freezes & reheats well

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey (I prefer ground turkey because it’s a leaner protein and there’s no need to strain the oil)
• 2 strips raw bacon cut in several pieces
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 small or medium Onion minced
• 1 small Zucchini diced
• 4 Tomatoes diced
• 3 T Beef bouillon powder (I use this brand)
• Oregano seasoning
• Onion powder to taste
• Garlic powder to taste
• Pepper to taste
• Salt *optional
• 1-2 jars spaghetti sauce of choice (24oz)
• 1 small pack spaghetti pasta or noodles of choice (20oz)

Directions:

⁃ Adhere to the packaging directions when preparing your pasta noodles for best al dente results, and then set aside

*Noteworthy: it’s been said that the starch in boiled pasta water helps to better bind the sauce to cooked pasta noodles thus enhancing the flavor; you can achieve this by adding 2-3T of your boiled pasta water to your sauce just before adding in your noodles

⁃ place: Ground beef or turkey, bacon pieces, minced garlic cloves, minced onion, diced tomatoes, beef bouillon powder and all seasonings into a skillet on low medium heat

⁃ Stir and allow contents to simmer until onions are translucent and tomatoes have reduced into a sauce

⁃ Toss in diced zucchini and continue cooking until tender

⁃ Next add in desired amount of spaghetti sauce

*Noteworthy: right about this time I do a taste test, and add more seasoning if needed

⁃ lastly combined your drained spaghetti noodles & sauce mixture in a large pot or serving bowl, serve and enjoy!
Provides 4-6 servings

If you prepared this dish with meal prep in mind; simply divide your servings into their allotted containers with lids, and allow to cool between 30 minutes and (no longer than) 2 hours before placing them in the refrigerator or freezer.

Want more recipes from Daj? Check out this amazing chopped salad recipe! Just omit chicken to make it the perfect side dish.

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Spaghetti With Daj

Recipe by DajCourse: Cooking it up, MAMs (Make Ahead Meals)
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey

  • 2 strips raw bacon cut in several pieces 

  • 3 garlic cloves minced

  • 1/2 small or medium Onion minced

  • 1 small Zucchini diced

  • 4 Tomatoes diced 

  • 2-3 T Beef bullion powder

  • Oregano seasoning to taste

  • Onion powder to taste

  • Garlic powder to taste

  • Pepper to taste

  • Salt *optional (use sparsely if cooking with recommended bullion powder)

  • 1-2 jars spaghetti sauce of choice (24 oz) 

  • 1 small pack spaghetti pasta (16 oz)

Directions

  • Adhere to the packaging directions when preparing your pasta noodles for best al dente results, drain and then set aside 
  • Place the following in a skillet: ground beef or turkey, bacon pieces, minced garlic cloves, dicedonion, diced tomatoes, beef bullion powder and all seasonings into a skillet on low medium heat
  • Stirring occasionally, allow contents to simmer on medium heat until onions are soft & translucent and tomatoes have reduced into a sauce or for approximately 30 minutes 
  • Toss in diced zucchini and continue cooking until tender
  • Next add in desired amount of spaghetti sauce 
    *Noteworthy: right about this time I do a taste test, and add more seasoning if 
    needed
  • Lastly combined your drained spaghetti noodles & sauce mixture in a large pot or serving bowl, serve and enjoy!

Notes

  • **secret ingredient: 2 T ketchup mixed with 1 T brown sugar- creates a subtle balance of salty and sweet 
  •  (don’t knock it til you try, and no your dish will not taste like ketchup)