Pasta and an Easy Meat Sauce

October 19, 2011


Every cook needs a classic pasta and meat sauce recipe. In this video grounded on research, I refute the myths about making pasta. Ever heard of throwing noodles against the wall? Watch to see if it actually works. Follow this video and, with practice, you will be able to whip up a pasta and meat sauce dish that even Mom would be proud of.

This video goes out to all of my college friends breaking in their new apartment kitchens. I hope you find this video informative, as well as entertaining! Make a big batch of this and you will have a homemade dinners ready for the rest of the week. Ciao! 

Here is a break down of the recipe for Pasta and Meat Sauce:

Ingredients:

  • 1 box of pasta (Penne, Bow tie, Spaghetti…)
  • 1 24 oz. jar of pasta sauce (Prego, Ragu, etc.)
  • 1 pound of ground meat (Turkey, Beef or Italian sausage)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons of table salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 4 quarts of water

To make the meat sauce:

  1. Heat a skillet on Medium High heat. Once it’s hot, add ground meat and break into pieces. Season with salt, pepper and italian seasoning.
  2. Cook until browned.
  3. Once the meat is cooked, add the jar of pasta sauce. Stir and let simmer on Low heat to warm.

For the pasta:

  1. Add 4 quarts of water to a large pot (it will fill about 3/4 of the pot). Cover the pot and bring the water to a roaring boil on High heat.
  2. Once water is boiling, add about 2 teaspoons of salt to the boiling water. The salt is essential to raise the boiling point of the water. It also flavors the noodles.
  3. Add your noodles and stir. Set cooking time as instructed on the box of pasta. Do not cover the pot. Stir every few minutes.
  4. The pasta should be cooked al dente, which in Italian means “to the bite” or “to the tooth.” Basically the noodles should be slightly tender or chewy.
  5. Drain the noodles, but do not rinse them with water.

Once both components of the dish are ready plate the pasta and meat sauce.

Store leftovers in the refrigerator. Put noodles in a container and add a teaspoon or so of Olive Oil. This will prevent the noodles from sticking. Store sauce in a container to refrigerate or freeze. Warm up for later and enjoy!

  1. we are obsessed! we dont even know where to begin! 1. your video was so much fun we watched it twice!!! haha your faces were so cute and funny and the baseball throw and laughing made it so much fun to watch! 2. i actually followed each of these steps thank you soooooo much. 3. love the hoops.makeup.hair combo coolest blogger out there.

  2. Steve Kopiec says:

    Fabulous post and video. I also played it twice. Generally, pasta will stick to a wall if it is long such as spaghetti, linguini,or angel hair. Penne is too heavy and the shape will bounce off the wall.

  3. patty silver says:

    I wonder how many people were surprised that you DO NOT rinse the pasta after you drain it! It was NEWS to me and I’m glad you told us all ‘why’ as well. Thanks for the tip! Keep on keepin’ on with your food blog because I love all your ideas and love love love FOOD! AND I agree with mycharmingsister….could you be any cuter with your joyful smiles, silly comments and grand enthusiasm!! Ur the best!!!
    xxx
    patrish

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