Today is National Spaghetti Day!

You can learn the strangest things while poking around the internet.  I was catching up on my WW recipes - resolutions, remember - looking for a little motivation and while checking out the Hungry Girl site I learned that today is National Spaghetti Day.  I mean, who knew?!? So in light of such a festive occasion, I thought I’d toss out a recipe or two.  Really, who doesn’t like pasta spaghetti?

Mark Bittman, in (my new favorite cookbook), How to Cook Everything, actually gives a list of 31 pasta sauces and dishes that you can make in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.   So here’s his Basic Tomato Sauce that takes a mere 20 minutes…

• 3 tbs olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed OR 1 small onion
• 1 28 oz can of whole plum tomatoes
• salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Warm 2 tbs of the olive oil and the  garlic or onion in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.  Cook until the garlic is golden or the onion is translucent.

Drain the tomatoes (remove seeds if you want).  Crush them with your hands, or using a fork and add them to the skillet along with the salt & pepper.

Raise the heat to medium-high and cook until the mixture becomes saucy and the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes.  Remove the garlic if you desire.  Stir in the remaining oil and season with additional salt & pepper if needed.

One of the many reasons I love this particular cookbook is that Mr. Bittman offers up 13 ways to vary the Basic Tomato Sauce recipe.  I just love how quick and easy they are.  Lists like this can be found throughout the book in all genres of food.

And for that leftover spaghetti, might I suggest a WW-friendly Spaghetti Pie…

• 6 ounces spaghetti — broken in half
• 3 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 10 ounces ground skinless turkey breast — or lean ground beef
• 1 green bell pepper — seeded and chopped
• 1 onion — chopped
• 2 cloves garlic — minced
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce — no salt added
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese — shredded

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9″ pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Rinse under cold water for 30 seconds and drain. Transfer to a medium bowl; stir in the egg whites and Parmesan cheese. Pat into the bottom and up the sides of the plate.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil. Add the turkey (or beef), bell pepper, onion and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until the turkey (or beef) is browned and the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, oregano and black pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until heated through about 2 minutes.

Spread the mixture evenly over the pasta. Bake 25 minutes; sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and bake until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes longer. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

So go ahead and plate up that bowl of pasta and dig in.  Don’t even think about how we all missed out celebrating the Festival of Sleep yesterday. Just remember, there’s always tomorrow…National Whipped Cream Day!  Where do they come up with this stuff?

Katy