Impress Me Spaghetti

Anyone who cooks can tell you that a solid home-cooked meal is a surefire way to seal the deal with a date. If you have a date coming up, and you want to impress them, invite them over for some dinner, a bottle of wine, and thank me later. Even if you don't cook often, or don't think you are a good cook, you can do this. I'll hold your hand along the way.

I cooked this spaghetti for James on one of our first dates, and now we are getting married. I like to believe he fell in love with my witty intellect, superior personality, and stellar good looks. However, I think it was my cooking.

This is a modified version of the way my dad taught me to make my own spaghetti sauce. I love this dish for so many reasons other than dates too. Group dinners, meals with the in-laws, holidays, you name it. This dish is easy to modify for large groups and everyone will be very impressed by your cooking skills.



Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1 (other than some sprinkled parmesan, which you can omit)
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4

Spaghetti
1 Tbl olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large can (30 oz I think?) of crushed tomatoes, drained
1 small can of mushrooms, drained
2 Tbl crushed pineapple
1 tsp dried basil (or 1 Tbl fresh basil, chopped)
1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 1/2 Tbl fresh oregano)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Italian sausage, cooked, drained (optional)0 I like to use turkey italian sausage and cook out of casing
Spaghetti noodles, cooked in boiling water, drained.

Cook spaghetti noodles as directed. In a large pan, add 1 Tbl olive oil to pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft and onions translucent. Add crushed tomatoes, mushrooms, pineapple, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix together and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve sauce over noodles. (If making meat sauce, add ground, cooked italian sausage at the end, simmer for another 5 minutes, then serve.)

(Note: make sure to continually taste the sauce while it is simmering. If you like it sweeter, add more crushed pineapple. If you want stronger herb flavors, add more basil and oregano. If you like a little bit of spice, add more pepper, or even some crushed red pepper. ) And beware of splattering while simmering. You can use a lid on the pan or a screen if you have one.

This is really easy and it's actually fun and rewarding to make your own spaghetti sauce. You can freeze the leftover sauce too and use later. Serve with some garlic bread and a caesar salad and you are all set.