Image Credit: blogchef.net
So if you’ve been following here for a while you know that I am participating in a program to help Walmart spread the word that they are doing something new to help moms (and dads) find quick meal solutions for their families. Each week they feature certain ingredients to grab and go so that you can pick them up and cook up some dinner with out any planning at all. I’ll let you in on the ingredients and what Walmart suggests you make this week…and I’ll share my tips on how to spice it up and make it WHOLESOME! Here’s what their offering this week:
- Ragu Traditional Sauce (26 oz) $1.75
- Great Value Spaghetti (16 oz) $0.89
- Great Value Grated Parmesan (8 oz) $2.73
- Great Value Mushroom Pieces/Stems (4 oz) $0.55
- Great Value Cut Green Beans (14.5 oz) $0.50
- Great Value Whole Kernel Corn (14.5 oz) $0.50
- Sara Lee Garlic Bread $3.22
*Prices may vary from region to region.
So, obviously you can go pick up all the above ingredients and have a quick and easy dinner of spaghetti with marinara along with a few veggies and some garlic bread and the total cost for the above would be $10.14 – that’s not bad! Even adding a lb. of beef to make this into a meat sauce your total would be less than $15.
However, at my house we’d be having spaghetti night with homemade marinara. I keep a jar of it on the shelf or a carton or two in the freezer. Using my family recipe it is just as easy to make a small batch as it is to make a large batch. If I make a big batch I can use some of it for dinner and pour the rest up in canning jars and boil the jars in a boiling water bath, or pour it up in freezer cartons. Then, I have several meals and only one mess! The benefit to canning them is that you don’t have to remember to thaw it out – and its just as convenient as a jar of Ragu!
Spaghetti Sauce
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
4 (16 oz) cans of tomato sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 medium onion
1 bay leaf
1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1 Tbsp olive oil
In a 4 quart sauce pan add oil, onion, and garlic. Saute until translucent. Add tomato sauce and remaining ingredients and simmer until heated through. The longer your simmer, the longer it will develop flavor, but you can eat it as soon as it is hot!
Cook ground beef in a separate pan, then you can add just it to just enough of the sauce for one meal and freeze or can the rest as marinara (without beef).
This recipe makes enough for 8 servings (or two meals) depending on how generous you are with the sauce.
How else do I switch it up?
I serve my spaghetti with a simple lettuce salad, some freshly grated Parmesan, and loaf of homemade baguette. I also LOVE Great Value’s angel hair pasta!
Want to make your meal a “moment…” You know a FAMILY MOMENT? Set the table with a nice table cloth, some candlesticks, your cloth napkins and dishes. Then, play some Italian Bistro music in the background and turn a quick meal into an experience! Buon Appetito!
This post is part of a series on Making Meals Easier for Mom (Meal Solutions). I hope you love it as much as I do! Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms, Jenn at Frugal Upstate, Heather at The Domestic Diva, and Lori at My Wooden Spoon, to get a fresh take on a new meal plan each week. Walmart has provided me with compensation and a gift card in return for this post. Participation in this program is voluntary. All opinions are my own.
Hey there, Denise! I had a question for you. I am wanting to do as you do and store some of the leftovers of batch cooking in my freezer. I was wondering what type of “carton” you use for sauces when freezing? Also, do you just use ziplock freezer bags or do you have something like the “food saver” vacuum sealing system?
I just love your blog and it is helping my family to live simpler and eat healthier…so THANKS!!
I buy quart sized plastic cartons at the Dollar Tree. They are made for freezing and come in a pack of 4 or 5 for a $1. You can also get them at Walmart and most grocery stores carry them too. I just set them out on the counter or in the fridge to thaw. I don’t heat in them though. I transfer the content to a pot or a glass container for heating. I like to use these cartons for freezing liquids like soup, chicken or beef stock, and spaghetti sauce.
I use ziploc freezer bags for solids, like chopped vegetables, fruit, and meat.
I don’t have a vacuum sealing gadget. I have heard they work well, but my system has worked well, and it is MUCH cheaper than having to buy refills. =)
Denise
Wholeseome Mommy
Can you tell me what kind of tomato sauce do you use for your pasta sauce. Is it tomatoes in puree? diced or stewed? or just plain tomato sauce?
Love your blog. Thanks.
Christy,
It is just plain tomato sauce. I usually buy the really large cans at Sam’s. It is cheaper and easier, and I like to make it in big batches when I make it! It isn’t any harder to make more and then I can put the extra in cartons in my freezer for a quick weeknight meal. (:
Denise Sawyer
Wholesome Mommy