Five Quick Pasta Sauces

Here are five quick pasta sauces you can make in about the same time it takes to boil water and cook pasta. The first two recipes start with tomato sauce. What we do is freeze the sauce in pint containers and then defrost it and combine it with other ingredients when we want a quick dinner. Alternately, you can use chopped fresh tomatoes, or chopped whole canned tomatoes like in the third recipe. This fresh tomato sauce is called marinara sauce and is really easy to make, but looks (and tastes) really impressive. The fourth recipe, pasta with olive oil and garlic, is even simplerÑno tomatoes! The fifth dish is egg-based carbonara sauce.

Tomato Sauce with Vegetables and Ground Beef
Gary Chapman
prep time: 00:05
cook time: 00:10-00:30
serves: 4
cost: $3.70

Since Gary is a bachelor trying to survive on a graduate student stipend, he makes pasta a lot. Here is his favorite quick sauce (which, I must admit, is really good). He usually uses spaghetti sauce from a bottle (the brand which is on sale that week) which makes his life easier.
4 c tomato sauce
1/4-1/2 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 mushrooms, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
oregano
black and red pepper
Put tomato sauce in a large sauce pan over low heat. In a skillet, brown the meat with or without oil. Drain off oil and add meat to the sauce. SautŽ the garlic and vegetables in oil until mushrooms are limp. Add vegetables to sauce and simmer until your pasta is done, stirring occasionally. The longer you simmer the sauce, the better it gets.

Pasta with Tuna
prep time: 00:02
cook time: 00:10
serves: 2-3
cost: $1.00

I know, I know, you think this sounds really disgusting, right? Well, I just ask you to try it once (if you aren't vegetarian or hate all forms of tuna) and see how good it actually is. My aunt made this for me one day and I thought it was surprisingly good.
2 c tomato sauce
1/2 can tuna

3/4 lb pasta Put tomato sauce in a sauce pan. Add tuna (break it up a little). Cook over medium heat for the amount of time it takes to cook the pasta, and serve over pasta.

Marinara Sauce with Mushrooms and Spinach
prep time: 00:10
cook time: 00:10
serves: 2-3
cost: $1.50
vegetarian

This is a really quick sauce and is healthy also. Lots of iron, you know. So when you're feeling a bit anemic and don't have much time, you should make this.
14 oz canned whole plum tomatoes
or 4 medium fresh tomatoes
a few sun dried tomatoes, soaked in water or oil (optional)
5 mushrooms, sliced
1/4 lb spinach, cleaned

2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t oregano
1 t fresh or dried parsley, chopped
1/4-1/2 t crushed red pepper

3/4 lb pasta Take canned tomatoes out of juice (save juice for adjusting consistency of sauce later if you want). Cut off the hard parts where the stem used to be and chop tomatoes coarsely. Chop sun dried tomatoes, slice mushrooms, and clean spinach.
Put on water for pasta
Put olive oil in a large frying pan. Chop garlic and add with spices to oil. Heat on medium until garlic starts to turn golden and add tomatoes.
Crush tomatoes somewhat with the back of a spoon while stirring. Add mushrooms and cook until they are tender. Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Serve over the pasta with grated romano cheese.

Pasta Aglio e Olio
(Pasta with Garlic and Oil)
prep time: 00:10
cook time: 00:03
serves: 2-3
cost: $0.60
vegetarian

This is the simplest pasta sauce imaginable, yet tons of people have asked me for the recipe. I think the secrets to making this is adding the right amount of hot pepper and crushing the garlic while you cook it.
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t oregano
1 t fresh or dried parsley, chopped
1/4-1/2 t crushed red pepper

3/4 lb pasta
small can clams , drained (optional)
Heat water for pasta.
Meanwhile, chop garlic and parsley. Put all ingredients in a frying pan. Cook pasta and drain. While pasta is draining, heat oil mixture on medium high heat, constantly crushing the garlic with a wooden spoon as it cooks. After about 3 minutes, the garlic should turn golden brown. Put pasta in serving dish and pour oil mixture on top. Serve with grated romano cheese.
Optional: If you want to make spaghetti with clams, just heat up the clams with the oil.

Spaghetti Carbonara
prep time: 00:10
cook time: 00:10
serves: 4
cost: $1.50

This is a classic dish, containing all the major forms of cholesterol: bacon, eggs, and cheese.
1 T olive oil
8 oz ham or bacon

3 eggs
1/2 t black pepper

1 lb spaghetti

1/2 c grated romano cheese
Slice ham or bacon into strips about 1 1/2" long. Heat the oil in a large casserole. Add the meat and cook over moderately high heat until crisp, about 7 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and pepper until blended.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Just before the pasta is cooked, whisk 1/4 c of the pasta water into the eggs. Drain the pasta. Immediately add it to the ham in the casserole, tossing well to mix.
Pour the hot pasta into the egg mixture and toss well. Toss again with the cheese.

Tomato Sauce with Vegetables and Ground Beef Gary Chapman
prep time: 00:05 cook time: 00:10-00:30 serves: 4 cost: $3.70
	Since Gary is a bachelor trying to survive on a graduate student stipend, he makes pasta a lot. Here is his favorite quick sauce (which, I must admit, is really good). He usually uses spaghetti sauce from a bottle (the brand which is on sale that week) which makes his life easier.
4 c tomato sauce 1/4-1/2 lb ground beef 2 cloves garlic, minced 8 mushrooms, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 1 small onion, chopped oregano black and red pepper	Put tomato sauce in a large sauce pan over low heat. In a skillet, brown the meat with or without oil. Drain off oil and add meat to the sauce. SautŽ the garlic and vegetables in oil until mushrooms are limp. Add vegetables to sauce and simmer until your pasta is done, stirring occasionally. The longer you simmer the sauce, the better it gets.

Pasta with Tuna
prep time: 00:02 cook time: 00:10 serves: 2-3 cost: $1.00
	I know, I know, you think this sounds really disgusting, right? Well, I just ask you to try it once (if you aren't vegetarian or hate all forms of tuna) and see how good it actually is. My aunt made this for me one day and I thought it was surprisingly good.
2 c tomato sauce 1/2 can tuna 3/4 lb pasta	Put tomato sauce in a sauce pan. Add tuna (break it up a little). Cook over medium heat for the amount of time it takes to cook the pasta, and serve over pasta.

Marinara Sauce with Mushrooms and Spinach
prep time: 00:10 cook time: 00:10 serves: 2-3 cost: $1.50 vegetarian
	This is a really quick sauce and is healthy also. Lots of iron, you know. So when you're feeling a bit anemic and don't have much time, you should make this.
14 oz canned whole plum tomatoes or 4 medium fresh tomatoes a few sun dried tomatoes, soaked in water or oil (optional) 5 mushrooms, sliced 1/4 lb spinach, cleaned 2 T olive oil 2 cloves garlic 1/4 t salt 1/2 t black pepper 1/2 t oregano 1 t fresh or dried parsley, chopped 1/4-1/2 t crushed red pepper 3/4 lb pasta	Take canned tomatoes out of juice (save juice for adjusting consistency of sauce later if you want). Cut off the hard parts where the stem used to be and chop tomatoes coarsely. Chop sun dried tomatoes, slice mushrooms, and clean spinach. Put on water for pasta Put olive oil in a large frying pan. Chop garlic and add with spices to oil. Heat on medium until garlic starts to turn golden and add tomatoes. Crush tomatoes somewhat with the back of a spoon while stirring. Add mushrooms and cook until they are tender. Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Serve over the pasta with grated romano cheese.

Pasta Aglio e Olio (Pasta with Garlic and Oil)
prep time: 00:10 cook time: 00:03 serves: 2-3 cost: $0.60 vegetarian
	This is the simplest pasta sauce imaginable, yet tons of people have asked me for the recipe. I think the secrets to making this is adding the right amount of hot pepper and crushing the garlic while you cook it.
3 cloves garlic 1/2 c olive oil 1/4 t salt 1/2 t black pepper 1/2 t oregano 1 t fresh or dried parsley, chopped 1/4-1/2 t crushed red pepper 3/4 lb pasta small can clams , drained (optional)	Heat water for pasta. Meanwhile, chop garlic and parsley. Put all ingredients in a frying pan. Cook pasta and drain. While pasta is draining, heat oil mixture on medium high heat, constantly crushing the garlic with a wooden spoon as it cooks. After about 3 minutes, the garlic should turn golden brown. Put pasta in serving dish and pour oil mixture on top. Serve with grated romano cheese. Optional: If you want to make spaghetti with clams, just heat up the clams with the oil.

Spaghetti Carbonara
prep time: 00:10 cook time: 00:10 serves: 4 cost: $1.50
	This is a classic dish, containing all the major forms of cholesterol: bacon, eggs, and cheese.
1 T olive oil 8 oz ham or bacon 3 eggs 1/2 t black pepper 1 lb spaghetti 1/2 c grated romano cheese	Slice ham or bacon into strips about 1 1/2" long. Heat the oil in a large casserole. Add the meat and cook over moderately high heat until crisp, about 7 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and pepper until blended. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Just before the pasta is cooked, whisk 1/4 c of the pasta water into the eggs. Drain the pasta. Immediately add it to the ham in the casserole, tossing well to mix. Pour the hot pasta into the egg mixture and toss well. Toss again with the cheese.