Judy's Spaghetti from Scratch

I am always a little hesitant to use my recipes on this blog since they just come out of my head, and are not at all exact, but that is really the way I would like to teach people to love to cook, with your heart and senses. When I ask you to use so much of an herb or spice, use a little more or less, if that is to your liking, that is how most of these recipes came to be. Also, I have not figured out exactly, but this spaghetti must cost cents per serving, it is VERY cheap to make and it is one of my family's favorites; I get a request for it at least once or twice a week! So, here goes:

1-1.5 lbs. ground meat (whatever is on sale beef, turkey, wild game)

1 can tomato paste (cheap is fine, organic is better)

1 can diced tomatoes w/ peppers (again, I buy the cheap stuff, or organic when it is on sale w/ a coupon, and then I stock up, this goes for the paste as well, I use them in a lot of stuff)

Garlic salt

Pepper

Chili Pepper

Italian Seasoning

Place thawed meat into a deep skillet on medium high heat, and sprinkle with spices, I'm guessing here, but I use at least a tsp. each of garlic, pepper and Italian seasoning, and then half that of the chili pepper. Again, this is really to your specific taste and smell. If you are on a low sodium diet, you may want to do your salt and garlic separately so that you can have a little more garlic taste without adding too much salt. My ground meat usually looks pretty well covered with the spices when it is still pink, that way I can see what I have added, and the flavors are cooked all the way through the meat.

I have the coolest trick to open those nasty tomato paste cans! (I wish I could remember where I read this so I could give due credit!) Open both ends, and remove one lid; when the meat is finished browning, just push the paste through with the other lid right into the skillet! Add the tomatoes, and since your rinsing the can for recycling anyway, put the first couple cans of water into the skillet to dissolve the tomato paste. Let simmer for at least 20 or 30 minutes.

I usually do the sauce, because it goes very quickly, and then get the water going for the pasta. Here is another one of my favorite tips, especially for us high altitude dwellers; always put a lid on your pot, it will help the water boil faster. It takes less energy, and less time, and at 9,000 feet if you don't want to wait a half hour for a pot of water to boil, it is a necessity.

Back to dinner, make a quick salad and maybe some garlic toast and you've got yourself a quick, easy, budget friendly meal that your family will love, I hope!

Have a miracle of a day!

PS I will try to take pictures as I am making some of these things, I know that would probably be helpful, are you getting sick of clipart?