Feed the Freezer

Wednesday night was Spaghetti night. This tradition began when the children were younger and went to AWANAS. To get dinner on the table and the kids to church on time, it had to be quick and easy. Even though the kids have long finished AWANAS, they get upset if I change this menu. Sometimes we have cheese ravioli with spaghetti sauce, lasagna or rosa pasta. Plain old spaghetti with meat sauce is the favorite though. I don't have any sauce, so I'll make some. I wont just make enough for tonight though, I'll make enough for a month or so. This way I'll cook once and clean once, but eat 4-6 times. That sounds like a deal to me.

Spaghetti

3 large onion chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
16 garlic cloves, minced (can use fresh, jarred or garlic powder, but fresh tastes best)
2 green bell pepper minced
Large can crushed tomatoes (from Sam's)
4 cans Italian diced tomatoes
2 cups water
2 veggie bouillon cubes
1 Tablespoon basil, dried or a handful of fresh, chopped
1 Tablespoon parsley, dried, or a handfull of fresh, chopped
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 Tablespoon salt
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Red pepper flakes to taste
Tony Chauchere's to taste

Put . olive oil in skillet. Add onions and cook until begin to soften. Add garlic and bell pepper. When vegetables begin to soften add tomato puree and dices, water and seasonings. Cook for 20 minutes.

Variations: Sometimes I add 2 # ground meat, 3 links Italian Sausage and canned mushrooms. This is not a highly seasoned recipe. You will want to adjust the seasonings according to your families taste.

Note: For food storage purposes, I'll need to have 7 large cans crushed tomatoes, 28 cans diced Italian tomatoes, 8 pkg. veggie bouillon, 63 Tablespoons dehydrated onions, 1 3/4 cup olive oil,
9 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon, 14 bell peppers, frozen, 7 Tablespoons Basil, salt, oregano and parsley, 3 Tblsp Italian seasoning, bottle of red pepper flakes, can of Cajun seasoning. (I keep 4 large cans in pantry.)