This is the spaghetti sauce recipe my Mom has always made for us. We always laugh because in our family cookbook, it’s called “Spicy Spaghetti” but there’s really nothing spicy about it! So, we’ll just call it Spaghetti. This spaghetti sauce happens to be Whole 30 compliant and it’s delicious over carrot or zucchini noodles. I serve it over organic, whole wheat noodles for my kids, but I often make carrot noodles for myself. However, my children will not be fooled by any sort of creative name for the carrot noodles – they know pasta isn’t orange and no non-carb alternative is acceptable. The great thing about this sauce is everyone can eat it on whatever they want. Side note – I buy the carrot noodles in the freezer section from Trader Joes. Means very limited work for me, which leaves me no excuse to not go the healthy, Whole 30 compliant route. I actually prefer carrot noodles over zucchini noodles. I think the texture is more similar to real pasta and they don’t water down the sauce like zucchini noodles can.

I keep jars of this spice mix already mixed up in my pantry, right next to the cans of tomato sauce. It makes a quick weeknight meal. This sauce also freezes very well – just thaw and reheat in a sauce pan.

This recipe is so simple and takes just a few ingredients – tomato sauce, spices, onion, and ground beef. I get ground beef from Trader Joe’s or Butcher Box. I always buy organic, 100% grass fed beef. I suppose that’s a debate for another day, but over the last year, I’ve really learned a lot about the importance of 100% grass fed and eating organic whenever possible. Trader Joe’s has great prices for 100% grass fed organic beef!

To start, add the onion and ground beef to a sauce pan.

Once the beef is cooked through, drain the grease. Then add the tomato sauce and spices.

Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer on the stove for up to a couple hours. If you don’t have time to let it simmer, that’s okay. Just let it go while the noodles cook and you’ll be fine.

I like to serve this meal with my Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Bread and Apple Kale Salad (pictured above).

Spaghetti

• Author: Sarah

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Ingredients

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1 lb ground beef

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 15-oz cans tomato sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried oregano

Sprinkle of dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp marjoram

1 lb spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained

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Instructions

In a saucepan, brown the ground beef with the onion.  Drain the grease.  Add 2 cans tomato sauce. Add 1/2 can water.  Add the spices and stir to combine.  Let the sauce simmer, up to a couple hours if time allows.  (If not, serve right away).  Serve over spaghetti noodles.

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This recipe has been in my Winter rotation for years. It’s healthy, easy to make, and a perfect warm comfort meal on cold days. I’ve been making this for almost 10 years now on a regular basis in the Winter and we still aren’t sick of it! Which says a lot, because there aren’t a ton of recipes that I remake. I love to try new things, so the things I remake consistently are truly loved in this house! I serve this recipe with sliced crusty bread and a simple salad, like Apple Kale Salad.

Prawn Saganaki

• Author: Sarah

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Ingredients

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1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined 

1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup white wine

1 15-oz can diced tomatoes

4 oz feta block, crumbled into large pieces (1/2 feta block)

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Heat the oil over medium heat in an oven safe pan. Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring for about 3 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the wine and let simmer for a couple minutes, until reduced by half.  Then add the diced tomatoes and let simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Lay the shrimp on top of the tomato mixture and crumble the feta into large pieces in the middle.  Bake for 10 minutes until the shrimp is cooked.  When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.  Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

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This is a longtime Winter favorite of mine. It’s delicious, hearty, and comforting. It does take some work to make, but it’s totally worth it! Use my Italian Sausage (I keep it on hand in the freezer) to speed things up a little. It really is the perfect Winter weekend meal!

Start by chopping the kale and dicing the butternut squash (or save yourself some time and buy pre-cut butternut squash). Place the butternut squash in a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, pierce the plastic wrap a few times, and microwave for 5 minutes.

Once the squash is cooked, add it and the kale to a large bowl. Wipe the dish that you cooked the squash in dry. Next, brown the sausage (if you had pre-cooked sausage in the freezer, just make sure it is fully thawed).

While the sausage is browning, you can make the sauce. Start by heating the oil in a saucepan and cooking the garlic for about 1 minute. Combine the flour and 1/2 cup of milk in a bowl and whisk, then add the milk mixture to the pan with the garlic. Whisk in the remaining milk and bring to a boil over medium high heat, whisking frequently. Once the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and stir in 1 ounce of the Gruyere cheese and the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Spray the baking dish with cooking spray and spread 1/3 cup of the cheese sauce over the bottom of the dish.

On top of the cheese sauce, layer 2 no boil noodles. Top with half of the veggie mixture and 1/2 of the sausage. Then pour on 2/3 cup of the remaining cheese sauce.

Add 2 more no boil noodles, the remaining veggie mixture and sausage, and another 2/3 cup cheese sauce. Top with the remaining 2 no boil noodles, then the remaining cheese sauce.

Cover with foil and bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere cheese and pecans (don’t skip the pecans – trust me on this one!). Bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.

Butternut Squash, Sausage, and Kale Lasagna

• Author: Sarah

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Ingredients

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6 no boil lasagna noodles

1/4 cup water

1 12-ounce package prechopped butternut squash

3 cups chopped kale

1 lb cooked Italian sausage

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/4 cup flour

2 3/4 cup milk, divided

2 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese, divided

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

cooking spray

3 Tbsp chopped pecans

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place the butternut squash in an 8×8 baking dish.  Pour in the water, cover with plastic wrap, and pierce the plastic wrap 3 times to vent.  Microwave for 5 minutes or until the butternut squash is tender, then drain.  Place the chopped kale in a large bowl and add the butternut squash.  Wipe out the 8×8 baking dish, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.

While the butternut squash is cooking, brown the Italian sausage in a skillet (if you are using precooked Italian sausage, just make sure it is fully thawed).

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.  In a bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/2 cup of the milk, then add to the saucepan with the garlic.  Whisk in the remaining milk and continue whisking until smooth.  Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently, until thickened.  Remove from the heat and stir in 1 ounce of gruyere cheese, the parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.  Continue stirring until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.  

Pour 1/3 cup of the cheese sauce into the bottom of the 8×8 baking dish.  Spread evenly over the bottom of the dish.  Layer 2 no boil noodles on top of the sauce.  Then layer half of the veggie mixture.  Then layer half of the sausage.  Top with 2/3 cup of the cheese sauce.  Then layer 2 no boil noodles, then the remaining half of the veggie mixture, then the remaining half of the Italian Sausage.  Top with 2/3 cup of the cheese sauce, then 2 more no boil noodles.  Pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top of the last layer of noodles.  Cover with foil and bake at 450 for 15 minutes.

Remove the foil and sprinkle with chopped pecans and remaining Gruyere.  Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until bubbly.  

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I like to use my own spice mixes whenever possible because I control the ingredients. This Italian Sausage spice mix is perfect. I make it really simple for myself by prepping batches of Italian Sausage at once and storing it in the freezer. I store some precooked for use in soups or casseroles, just to make it extra easy. I also store some uncooked so that I can cook it when I’m preparing dishes that need the sausage flavor and grease in the pan. Another easy way to do it is to store the spice mix already prepped ahead of time. All you have to do then is combine it with the ground pork.

To make this Italian Sausage, first combine the spices.

Mix well with 2 lbs ground pork, to distribute evenly.

You can freeze it at this point, portioned into whatever sizes you like. Or, you can cook it and use immediately or freeze.

Italian Sausage

• Author: Sarah

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Ingredients

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2 lbs ground pork

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp dried parsley

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp crushed dried fennel seeds

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp minced dried onion

2 tsp salt

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Instructions

Mix all spice ingredients together in a small bowl.  Add to 2 pounds ground pork and use your hands to mix well, distributing the spice mixture evenly.  

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