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Bill's Spaghetti

Sauce:
4 oz. ground beef
1 14oz. can whole tomatoes, no salt added
1 small to medium yellow onion, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, cored & minced - optional
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced - optional
1 TB balsamic or red wine vinegar
2-3 tsp. Turkish oregano
1/2 tsp. fennel seed
2 piquin peppers, crushed-or a dash cayenne red pepper or crushed red pepper

Pasta:
4-6 oz. thin spaghetti noodles (dry)
1 tsp. California basil
1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. olive oil (optional)
1/4 Cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Heat a large, heavy duty pan over medium-high heat until hot. Break the ground beef into large shooter marble sized chunks and drop into the hot pan, leaving a bit of room between the chunks. Let brown on one side, and then stir to turn over so the beef is nicely browned on both sides and stays in hunks. This will take 3-5 minutes. The key to lower fat cooking that still has flavor is in good browning, so don't rush it or put too much meat into the pan at once, as it will steam instead of brown. 4 oz. is fine, but you wouldn't want to put a whole pound of meat into the pan at once if you were quadrupling the recipe.
2. Remove the meat from the pan once brown, drain on paper toweling. Pour off almost all of the fat, and then add the onion and red bell pepper. Stir over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until everything starts to get nice and brown. Then add the fennel seed, (crushed with a spoon if you so desire), Turkish oregano, and crushed piquin pepper. Stir it around with the onion-pepper mix, and then add the splash of balsamic vinegar. The vinegar will bubble up; use it to dislodge the tasty browned bits in the pan. Add the juice of the can of tomatoes, let it all simmer a minute while stirring, then add the browned beef and the whole tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes a bit while they are still in the can - just insert a butter knife and move back and forth vigorously for a moment. Give everything a final stir, and then reduce the heat to medium low, so the sauce just barely simmers. The sauce should cook for about 20 minutes, which is just enough time to make the spaghetti noodles and set the table.
3. To prepare the pasta, bring at least two quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add the thin spaghetti noodles, cook until done - usually 8-9 minutes. Drain, then add the sweet basil and garlic, stir to coat, let stand 1 minute. If you won't be eating within a few minutes, use the teaspoon of olive oil to coat the pasta to keep it from sticking. Otherwise, you don't need it. Divide the pasta between 2 plates, place a ladleful of sauce on top, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy. Great served with plain Italian bread and a green salad.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2

Penzeys Spices - Fall

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