Paul’s Spicy Spaghetti Sauce

Spicy Spaghetti Sauce and Noodles

I’ve mentioned numerous times in my posts about my husband’s spaghetti sauce. While it’s not completely made from scratch, he adds just the right amount of spiciness, meats, and veggies to make this taste “just like homemade.” One of the tricks is to use a quality jarred marinara sauce (and lots of garlic and pepper!) Another special ingredient is Hot and Spicy Italian Sausage. Our local grocery store mixes this up themselves. But if that is not available in your area, you can mix cayenne pepper into ground Italian sausage to your liking. Sometimes he adds a yellow or red pepper to the sauce, but we didn’t have one for this go-round.

Add Lots of Garlic and Pepper!

Paul’s Spicy Spaghetti Sauce

3/4 pound Spicy Italian Sausage
3/4 pound ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 jars quality marinara sauce
2 jars homemade canned tomatoes or 2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 to 6 ounces mushrooms, sliced or chopped
1 small red or yellow bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
A bunch of ground black pepper, to taste
2 bay leaves

Add Lots of Mushrooms Too!

Brown the sausage, drain, and set aside. Wipe the skillet, then brown the ground beef with about a quarter of the chopped onions until cooked through. Drain and set aside. In a large pot or deep-sided skillet, pour in the marina sauce and the rest of the ingredients, plus the sausage and ground beef mixture. Stir to combine, then bring up to a simmer. Turn down to low, partially cover the sauce, and simmer for at least a couple of hours.

Simmering Spaghetti Sauce

Remove bay leaves and serve over cooked spaghetti noodles and grated Parmesan cheese. (Don’t forget the garlic bread!) Freeze the extra sauce in quart-size zip-top baggies for a quick and easy future meal!

Spicy Spaghetti Sauce and Noodles

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

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Spicy Italian Sausage, White Bean, and Spinach Soup

Spicy Italian Sausage, White Bean, and Spinach Soup

I had it in my mind over the weekend that I really wanted to make soup with white beans and spinach. No rhyme or reason for that. It’s just what I “felt like.”  The afternoon of the day I decided on this, my husband had already put ribs the crockpot in the morning (unbeknownst to me), and the next day we were invited out to dinner. So, no soup for me!

I finally got to the day I would put this into action. White beans. Check. Spinach. Check. Homemade canned tomatoes. Check. Vegetarian? Maybe. But I scrounged around the freezer and found a pound of Spicy Italian Sausage that’s blended at our local grocer. Perfect! I wouldn’t have to spice it up too much with anything else. And this local blend is absolutely delicious! My husband uses it in his huge batches of spaghetti sauce that we always freeze for quick late night meals. I have yet to disclose that recipe. He might have to kill me if I do. 😉

I only used 1/2 pound of this sausage, as it is REALLY spicy. Now I know that 100% of my readers don’t visit this particular store (and if you do, then I don’t know about you) so my suggestion is to buy bulk Italian-spiced sausage, then add cayenne pepper, to taste. I’m going to guess maybe 1/8 teaspoon to start and build up from there? Either way, you can omit the cayenne or add or reduce to your taste.

I made this soup in less than a half-hour while on a conference call at work, as I was working after hours. Thank goodness for hands-free headsets and mute buttons, huh? While I’m sure you won’t be in that situation while preparing this soup, it’s nice to know you can.

I know this would convert into a wonderful vegetarian recipe by using vegetable stock and omitting the  sausage, as there are plenty of beans in this! You’d probably have to add salt and play with the seasonings, though.  I hope you enjoy!

Spicy Italian Sausage, White Bean, and Spinach Soup

Spicy Italian Sausage, White Bean, and Spinach Soup

1/2 pound Spicy Italian Sausage (or bulk Italian Sausage and add cayenne pepper to taste)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup baby carrots, sliced 1/4-inch thin
2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 2 cloves minced)
Black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon Italian dried seasoning herbs
6 to 7 cups homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1 pint jar homemade canned tomatoes, diced, or one 14-0unce can low sodium diced tomatoes
6 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped (this was half of a 9-ounce bag)

In a dutch oven or soup pot, add the sausage, onion, and carrots over medium heat. Cook until the sausage is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain grease, if needed. Mine was lean enough and did not have to. Grind a bunch of black pepper over it, add the Italian dried seasoning herbs, chicken broth, beans, and tomatoes (including liquid). Bring it up to a simmer, and then add the spinach. Give it a good stir, and as soon as the spinach wilts, it is ready to serve!

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Diary of a Week of Camp Food

Shredded Spicy Chicken Tacos

I mentioned in my last blog that camp food doesn’t always have to consist of hot dogs, burgers, and chili. In between all the work we did out there (and of course relaxing) I kept some scribbled notes of what we cooked and/or ate last week. Aside from the plank-grilled salmon, we really didn’t eat that gourmet but I tried to mix things up enough with what I brought so that we weren’t eating the same stuff every day. And it certainly helps that we have a stove and convection/microwave oven in the RV! I’m sure the menu would have been quite different if I just had to rely on our trusty charcoal grill. We typically only ate two full meals a day out there. I had plenty of snacks on hand to eat in between meals.

Saturday Dinner
Grilled Beer Brats topped with Ranch Style Beans, chopped onion, and cheese
Potato Chips

Plank-Grilled Salmon Plated

Sunday Brunch
Spring Eggs (scrambled eggs with diced green onion, dice Roma tomato, real bacon bits and cheese)
Toasted English Muffins

Sunday Dinner
Plank-Grilled Salmon
Rice Pilaf
Green Salad

Monday Lunch
Tuna Melts
Potato Chips

Monday Dinner
Leftover Grilled Tri-Tip from our Friday dinner before we left
Baked Red Potatoes
Corn on the Cob

Tuesday Lunch
Lunch Buffet at Chinook Winds Casino!

Tuesday Dinner
Spaghetti made with hot Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, lots of seasonings
Garlic Bread
Green Salad

Wednesday  Brunch
Bowl of Cheerios
Hard Boiled Eggs

Our Trusty Charcoal Grill

Wednesday Dinner
Grilled T-Bone Steak
Leftover Rice Pilaf
Corn on the Cob
Green Salad

Thursday Lunch
Leftover Spaghetti
Garlic Bread

Thursday Dinner
Shredded Spicy Chicken Tacos (Parboiled a chicken breast with a Serrano pepper, onion, garlic, lettuce and spices, then shredded and served on tortillas with tomato, lettuce, sweet onion, Southwest Corn Salsa, cheese, and sour cream

Friday Brunch
Can of Progresso Light Chicken Noodle Soup with the leftover spicy chicken and chicken broth added
Rice Cakes

Friday Dinner
1/4-lb. Grilled Burgers served on English Muffins
Potato Chips
Green Salad

Shredding the Chicken

And there you have it! We had an unmemorable lunch of boiled eggs, string cheese, and Goldfish crackers on the drive back because we didn’t feel like stopping on the drive home anywhere.  I had brought all the food in a cooler and a box, with the exception of the vegetables which we bought at a produce stand about an hour from camp.  The only time I had to drive to a grocery store was to get ice every few days for our beer/soda cooler since the RV fridge is too small to store many cans. And yes, most meals were eaten off paper plates. Hey, it’s camping!