Spaghetti & Meat Sauce and Garlic Bread

Food Preparation Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Open the package of garlic bread and place the two halves of the bread on a baking sheet with the buttered side facing up. Set aside.
• Open the can of tomato paste, remove the lid and set aside.
• Open the jar of tomato pasta sauce, remove the lid and set aside.
• Remove the outer layer of skin on the onion and discard. Cut the onion in half. Place the flat side on the cutting board and cut the onion into ¼-inch slices. Place the onion slices in a small bowl.

Cooking Instructions

Prepare the meat sauce:

• Place a large skillet or medium sized pot on a large burner on the stove.
• Turn the burner on to medium-high (6-7 on the dial).
• Open the package of ground beef and place the meat into the hot pan. Throw the package in the garbage.
• Wash and dry your hands.
• Using a wooden spoon or spatula, break the meat up into smaller pieces.
• Add the onions to the pan. Add the oregano and garlic powder to the pan.
• Stir the mixture in the pan to combine the ingredients.
• Turn the heat down to medium (4-5 on the dial).
• Continue to cook and stir the mixture until the beef is no longer pink and the onions have softened.
• If there is a lot of fat in the pan after the beef is cooked, carefully drain the fat into a metal container. Do not pour it down the sink.
• Turn the heat down to low (2-3 on the dial) and add in the tomato paste. Stir to coat the meat with the tomato paste.
• Now add in the pasta sauce. Stir to mix in all the ingredients. Let this mixture simmer on low heat for about 25 minutes. Stir the meat sauce every 5 minutes (or more often) so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

While the meat sauce is simmering, you can cook the spaghetti.

• Fill a tall, medium-sized pot three quarters full of water. Place it on a burner and turn the heat on to high.
• When the water boils, add in 1 teaspoon of salt and then add the dry spaghetti pasta. Turn the heat down to medium (5-6 on the dial) and stir the spaghetti.
• Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is softened and cooked through.

Bake the Garlic Bread:

• When the spaghetti is done cooking, place the pan of garlic bread in the oven. Set a timer for 5-7 minutes. The garlic bread is done when the edges are light brown and the butter is melted.
• Remove the bread from the oven and carefully cut into slices.
• Turn the heat off on the stove and drain the water off the spaghetti.

Portion the spaghetti onto 4 plates. Top each portion of spaghetti with 1-cup of the hot meat sauce and serve the garlic bread on the side.