All-Around Pinay Mama

Papa's Ultimate Healthy Spaghetti Recipe

February 17, 2015

A friend was asking about how Papa and I celebrated Valentine's Day. I said we ate left over spaghetti and vanilla ice cream with the kids, bonded with them after, then both of us had time together when the kids were asleep. We love each other dearly for six years of being in a relationship and 10 years of being married. Everyday is Valentine's Day for us especially now that we have kids.

Papa's love for cooking makes everyday very special for us. We can feel his passion for cooking in every dish that he serves. One of his most requested dishes is a healthy spaghetti where he can actually conceal all the veggies that our kids don't like to eat.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 kilo Del Monte or Dole sweet style spaghetti sauce

1 head garlic, minced

2 medium red onions, minced

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 kilo ground pork

2 big carrots, grated

2 tablespoons minced coriander

165g bar Eden Cheese, grated

1/2 kilo tomato, halved

400g Jolly button mushrooms

1 kilo spaghetti, cooked al dente

dash of McCormick dried basil and oregano

sugar, measurement depends on your taste preference

water

salt, optional

Procedure

1. Boil meat together with onion, coriander, and pepper until oil comes out. Fry until light brown.

2. Saute meat with garlic and mushrooms.

3. Add in carrots, halved tomatoes, and water until ingredients are slightly submerged. Stir occasionally while cooking in medium fire.

4. Once it's cooked, put spaghetti sauce, grated cheese, dried basil, dried oregano, and sugar. Let it simmer. To adjust the taste, add sugar or salt.

Papa doesn't mince the tomatoes to preserve their juices. Both of us love eating them chunky while we press and mash them before serving the spaghetti to our kids.

Here is the photo of the finished product. By the way, we noticed that the sauce tastes better after 24 hours. If you wish to eat it the following day, don't forget to refrigerate. The sauce can be used as dip or pizza sauce too!