Spaghetti Night, Plus a Healthy Dessert Treat

I was able to come home early tonight since my 3:00 meeting with the assistant superintendent was cancelled (she forgot about it and was out of town at a workshop). DH was pleased to see me, and requested spaghetti. Since I had just gotten some Barilla Plus thin spaghetti, and had enough time to thaw some ground beef, I agreed. I used to use other people’s spaghetti sauce (Newman’s Own, Hunts, etc.), but I think mine is much better. It’s an adaptation of my mother’s recipe, with one of the biggest changes being the addition of crushed red pepper to give it a little kick. DH said tonight’s was the best I ever made, and I told him that it would be that way from now on since I wrote down exactly what I did.



Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce

3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c chopped bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 small cans tomato paste
2 tomato paste cans water
1 T Splenda
1 t salt
1 1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 t dried thyme
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 T chopped parsley
1/3 c Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef together with the onion and bell pepper. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat at least 30 minutes for flavors to blend. Serve over hot spaghetti noodles.

On to Dessert:

I had picked up some zucchini yesterday at the produce market, and decided to use it in something for dessert. Yes, zucchini and dessert. I created this recipe, drawing on a few others in my file, and put zucchini, baby food, applesauce, and apples in it. I used whole wheat and flax to keep it healthy, used Splenda instead of sugar, and WOW - it was perfect. I got the amount of baking powder right. These come out with the texture of brownies, and the zucchini and apples soften with the baking, making these a treat that I’m proud of sharing. I’ll call ‘em Freggie Bars, since they have fruit and veggies in them. I guess you could add nuts, too, but this time I didn’t. Tonight I used baby sweet potatoes, but I'm sure it would be just as tasty using carrots, plums, or other fruit or vegetable baby food.



Whole Wheat Freggie Bars

2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
3 T ground flaxseed
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 c Splenda
2 T Splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
3/4 c finely chopped zucchini
2 sm. jars baby food - try carrot, plums, sweet potatoes
1 med. apple, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9x13" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine flour, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and Splenda brown sugar blend and Splenda. In a separate bowl, combine applesauce and eggs. Mix in remaining ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients and spread in prepared pan. Bake 20 minutes.

food , cooking , recipes , healthy cooking , low carb recipes