Saturday Night Spaghetti and Gravy Dinner

Spaghetti and gravy is a favorite family meal no matter what night of the week. But, throughout my childhood, it was always on Saturday night. Mom would start the gravy around noon.  She would make it in an electric skillet and let is slowly simmer all afternoon. You do not need an electric skillet to make the gravy; it can be made on the stovetop just as easily. I do not usually let it simmer all afternoon, primarily because the smells would waft through the house and MDS would eat all the gravy before dinner. Whether you let the gravy simmer for hours, or just a few minutes, it is the first thing to get started on.

To make the gravy, brown about one pound of ground beef. Sometimes, I get fancy and use Italian sausage. Once the meat is browned, drain any excess grease. Then add tomato sauce and tomato paste. To get all the sauce out of the cans, add a little water to the can and swirl it around to get the sauce and add the water to the simmering sauce. Unlike Mom, I also add a can of diced tomatoes. I just love having pieces of tomato in the sauce. Sure, to make gravy, you could use fresh tomatoes; but canned tomato products are so convenient. Once all the tomato products are mixed in with the meat, add in oregano, garlic powder, and dried minced onions. I have never actually measured how much of the oregano, garlic, and onion to add. I usually just eyeball it. I have attempted to determine measurements for the recipe below, but you will want to adjust for your taste. If needed, as a spoonful of sugar.  Turn the heat to low and simmer for minutes or hours (if you can keep your family from eating all the gravy before dinner).  In later years, Mom tried adding pepperoni to the gravy.  This change did not go over well and did not last long.  Mom did, for a time, switch to meatballs because the grandkids, especially Tim, liked the meatballs.  Again, this change was met with resistance from those of us who grew up on the classic recipe.  No matter, the grandkids' wishes ruled out.

Once the gravy is underway (or when dinnertime is getting near), prepare the garlic bread and get it in the oven. Mom always bought a large loaf of french bread at store on Saturday morning so that it would be fresh. There are other ways to make garlic bread, but this way is the family classic. Slice the bread the long way. Spread butter on both open sides, sprinkle with garlic and parmesan cheese. One change that I have made is to add oregano. Our family always used the parmesan cheese from the green can. Of course you could use fancier parmesan, but parmesan cheese from the green can makes this garlic bread the best.

When the bread is ready to go in the oven, start the hard boiled eggs and a pot of water for the spaghetti. For the hard boiled eggs, make as many as you want, but usually one per person is enough. Put the eggs in a pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Then drain and peel. While any pasta can be used, there are howls of protest in my house if I attempt to use anything other than classic spaghetti.

As for the chocolate chip cookies, you can make the before, or mix the dough while cooking the rest, so that the cookies are coming out of the oven just after dinner. Mom always bought Nestle Tollhouse Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, which conveniently has a recipe for chocolate chip cookies on the back.  The recipe calls for butter, but Mom always used margarine, so that it what I have used here.  There is a Friends episode from 2000 where Monica tries to re-create Phoebe's grandmother's cookies, only to learn that it is the Nestle Tollhouse recipe.

Gravy
1 pound ground beef
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried minced onions
1 Tbsp. sugar

On the stovetop in a large skillet, brown the meat. Drain any excess grease. Turn heat to low. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Mix well. Then, add garlic powder, oregano, dried minced onions and sugar (amounts can be adjusted to taste). Mix well. Simmer for minutes or hours. Stir occasionally.

Serve with spaghetti, hard boiled eggs, and garlic bread.

Garlic Bread
1 loaf large French or Italian Bread
1 stick butter
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Slice the bread the long way. Spread both faces with butter. Sprinkle with garlic, oregano and parmesan cheese. Put the bread together. Wrap in foil. Cook in oven 20-25 minutes. Slice bread and serve.


Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe: Buy a bag of Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Look on the back of the bag.