Pasta, Collard Greens, and Squash Au Gratin

School starts again today, so I have to make sure and cook a lot every weekend. I have class after work on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I try to bring both lunch AND dinner to work. I'm trying to not buy things at the cafeteria and eat fast food, so I have to get creative with cooking and leftovers. I'm not a huge leftover person, so I have to be selective. With that in mind, I made quite a lot last night after church! Due to the quickness of cooking, I wasn't able to take any of my own pictures. Sad day, I know. The following pictures are from Google searches.

First on the docket: Spaghetti sauce. This is a good stand-by meal for leftovers, since most sauces are better the longer they sit. I usually allow the sauce to simmer for at least 3 hours on the stove, so it was essential that I get this going as soon as I got home. Ah, the "perks" of having 1pm church with Sacrament meeting last.

I don't remember where I originally got this recipe from, and I've changed it a few times.

Pasta Sauce:

Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 lb bacon (diced and fried)

2 6 oz cans tomato paste

12 oz water

1 24 oz jar tomato puree/diced tomatoes

5-6 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, diced

2-3 T honey

1 t oregano

1 t garlic powder

1 t onion powder

1 t red pepper flakes

handful fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

*saute garlic and onion until soft in olive oil

*toss in ground beef and brown, season with salt/pepper

*pour in the rest of the ingredients, and simmer uncovered for at least 2 hours

*stir occasionally

**I usually let it go for over 3 hours for the ingredients to marry. I like to add the bacon and onion for more depth to the flavor. If you have fresh tomatoes, use half fresh/half canned

I love having pasta sauce on hand. It's a quick meal for those late nights or for days that I forget to make something for lunch. I also like to keep a container of it in the fridge at work. It will keep for a few days, at least, and make all my coworkers drool!

The next thing I made was sauteed collard greens. I didn't mean to make them...I actually thought I had purchased Swiss Chard. Mental note: don't go grocery shopping when I'm exhausted!! Collard Greens are really good for you, but much harder to cook. Well, maybe not harder...they just take a little longer and need to be broken down more.

I like my dark greens (kale, chard, b.Z.) as unadulterated as possible. I usually just like to steam/saute them with just a few ingredients. There's no real recipe that I follow, but it usually takes about 15 minutes to cook...10 to boil, 5 to saute. Here's what I did for the Collard Greens:

*remove stalks from each leaf and cut into strips

*boil/steam strips until soft (about 10 minutes)

*saute with thinly sliced onion, garlic, salt/pepper

*add lemon zest when almost done

Collard Greens are pretty bitter, so be aware. Sometimes people put bacon in with them to boost the flavor. I used the bacon I had for the pasta sauce. The last thing I made was called "Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin." I got the recipe from Dandy Dishes on Pinterest and saw that my aunt made it and loved it. So why not? 

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin

Ingredients

1 medium spaghetti squash

2 T butter

1 yellow onion, cut in half and very thinly sliced

1/2 t red pepper flakes

1 t fresh thyme

1/2 c sour cream

1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

*cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds

*place in a covered dish with 1/4" of water and microwave for 12 minutes

*in a med skillet, add butter, onions, red pepper, and thyme, and cook until onions are soft

*using a fork, scrape the insides of the squash and transfer to a small bowl

*combine the squash, onions, sour cream, and half of the cheese

*mix well and season with salt/pepper

*transfer the mix to a buttered 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish

*top with remaining cheese

*bake at 375* for 15-20 minutes until golden brown

Thanks to the sour cream and cheddar, it tastes similar to funeral potatoes. I also added some finely chopped chives to the top before I baked it, mainly for color. It was too yellow/orange for my liking.