Spaghetti Sauce

After the conference last week and a whirlwind trip to home (my DH is currently in school for 10 months and we made a temporary move), I needed an easy meal last night. DH picked up Tinkyada pasta for the kids and we were set to go.

There are pasta sauces that my kids can eat out of the jar.....but they are spoiled and won't eat them. They prefer my homemade sauce. This recipe is based on how my mom made sauce growing up - tweaked to meet my families tastes.

Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground beef - browned

1 med onion - diced

2. c tomato paste

6 c. water

1/4 c. Italian Seasoning

Salt and Sugar to taste.

Saute onion in a little oil until soft. Add browned ground beef, tomato paste, water, and Italian Seasoning and mix. Add salt and sugar to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes.

The sugar amount will depend on how sweet you like your sauce. My mom and I like our sauce to be on the sour side. My DH and kiddo's like it to be on the sweeter side. So I probally use upwards of a 1/4 c. of sugar in this recipe for my family.

Roast Beef - The Easy Way

I love meals that cook themselves! My mom made this meal the entire time I was growing up and still makes it for our family when we come home to visit.

Crock Pot Roast Beef

One Crock pot:)

5-6 lb. Beef Roast - (I normally use the least expensive cut at the store)

1 Large Onion

approx. 1/4 cup Italian Seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste (I usually use a lot but I am heavy handed with these on a regular basis!)

1-2 c. of water depending on size of crock pot.

Place Roast in the crock pot, add all other ingredients, cover and cook until it falls apart. Usually 8-10 hours on low. In terms of the water amount - my mom has a smaller tall round crock pot and she uses only 1 cup of water. I have one of those new larger oval super fancy turns off when it is done cooking crock pots - so I use 2 cups of water.

Ideas for using up the roast beef:

Roast Beef, Baked Potatoes, Veggies and a salad - usually the first meal we eat

Roast Beef Sandwiches for lunch the next day

BBQ Beef and Chips

Any other ideas? I would love to hear about them!

Menu Plan Monday

On another blog that I follow ( http://www.econobusters.com/ ), Molly always posts her weekly menu. I thought "Hey! This is a great idea, it will give people an idea of what we eat! AND, it will give me direction in what to post!" I have been sitting here wondering what recipe to post first.
This week my DH and I will be attending a conference so I have cooked most of the kids food ahead of time to make the week easy in terms of cooking. Thursday we hit the road and drive home for a quick visit so Saturday's menu item is a splurge as we will have a grill at hand:) Here we go!

Monday - Chili, Allergy Free Bread, and Fruit

Tuesday - Roast Beef Sandwiches, Chips, and Fruit

Wednesday - Sweet Italian Sausage, Baked Potatos and any fresh fruit or vegie that must be eaten!

Thursday - Packed food - Lunch Meat, Chips, Fruit, Puppy Chow

Friday - Packed food for 2nd day of travel.

Saturday - Steak! Yippie for splurges:)

Sunday - Packed food for drive home - Lunch Meat, Chips, and Fruit