Cooking Trainer

This tradition of making spaghetti for Halloween started over 20 years ago. The best Halloween dinner I remember is where I made the spaghetti and a friend brought a delicous green salad sprinkled with Parmesan cheese with a red wine vinegarette dressing. She also brought a plate of fingers! She had cut Vienna sausages in half, lengthwise and stuck a slivered almond at the tip, making it look like a fingernail. She then poured ketchup over the whole plate. It looked just like a plate of chopped of fingers perfect for Halloween, and they were delicious too! ha ha ha

Anyway, every year we make spaghetti, and here is my recipe.

• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 chopped brown onion
• 4 bulbs garlic peeled
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 package mushrooms sliced (use white, Italian brown or your favorite)
• 1 can small olives
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1 can favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 medium can tomato paste
• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 package hot Italian sausages
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup concord grape juice
• 4 tbs chopped fresh basil
• 2 tbs. chopped fresh oregano
• 1 tbs. garlic powder
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• spaghetti pasta
• 1 tbs. salt
• 1 tbs. olive oil

Use a large heavy pot. Start browning the ground beef and sausages in the olive oil. Start boiling your water for your pasta, add at least a tablespoon of salt to the water, and a tablespoon of olive oil as well. Be sure to cook the pasta only until it is just tender, and drain it well, you want it to be very firm so that when you add it to the sauce it will cook some more and soak up any extra liquid from the sauce. To the cooking meat add the whole garlic cloves, onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper and zucchini. Next add all your tomatoes; crushed, sauces and paste. Let cook for a few minutes until hot, then add the wine and grape juice. Let simmer again and then add the mushrooms, olives and garlic powder. Five minutes before serving add the basil and oregano and stir well. If the sauce is too watery add more tomato paste. I like adding the partially cooked pasta to the sauce to finish cooking it. It gives the pasta a great flavor. If you like you may cook your pasta normally and just top it with this sauce. I like to serve it with Parmesan cheese, garlic bread, and salad with red wine vinegar.

This dinner goes good with the too sweet Halloween candy, and helps offset that sugary taste in your mouth, with a healthy, great tasting dinner.

October 18th, 2007
Categories: Recipes . Author: gloria

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