Pepperoni Pasta

This dinner was so good! I feel bad that the picture is so awful. You'll just have to excuse the photo and try this pasta. It is delicious. I have a husband who is not a big fan of pasta at all and he had two helpings and said he could eat this meal every week! Now that is a glowing recommendation! It's also a quick and easy dinner to throw together. Like I said, we really enjoyed this dinner. I got the idea over at Kevin and Amanda and just made a few tweaks. Try this soon!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup pepperoni slices (we used Hormel brand turkey pepperoni)
1 (14.5 oz.) can basil, garlic, and oregano diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning
2 cups campanelle shaped pasta
2 cups water
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
In a large skillet with a lid add the pepperoni slices, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic bread seasoning, pasta, and water. Stir to mix everything together. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 13-15 minutes until the pasta is al dente and the liquid is mostly absorbed. Top with shredded cheese and let melt. Serve hot with a crisp green salad and enjoy!


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Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups with Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Here is a great comfort food recipe from Sarah!

This is a play on lasagna roll ups... which we love and have often!!! This recipe comes from Mmm Cafe.

Chicken Alfredo Roll Ups

9 lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups Alfredo sauce
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
Oregano
Garlic salt
3 cups shredded Mozzarella, or cheese of your choice

Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray and pour 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce, or just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Boil 8-10 cups water in a large pan, cook lasagna noodles until all dente.
Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water to prevent them from sticking to each other. Then lay out each noodle individually and blot dry with a paper towel.
Spread about 2 Tbs. Alfredo sauce over each noodle. Sprinkle oregano and garlic salt on top of sauce. Take 1/9 of the shredded chicken and spread it out evenly over each noodle. Add approx. 3 Tbs. Cheese. To roll up, start at one end and roll the noodle over the toppings. You will need to life the noodle a little to prevent squishing out the inside ingredients while rolling.
Place the roll-ups in the pan, one by one, seam side down so they don't come undone. Once they are all in the pan, pour the remaining Alfredo sauce over the top. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted on top.
Serves 3, 3 roll-ups each.


Homemade Garlic Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter
2 oz. Cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream (or substitute half and half)
2 tsp. Garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp.dried oregano
2/3 cup parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add fresh minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the cream and whisk to smooth and melted. Whisk in the heavy cream. Season with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and whisk frequently until sauce thickens, around 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and when melted, remove from heat and serve.
Makes 2 1/2 cups.


This picture comes from Mmm Cafe.

Spaghetti Salad

Since I tried pasta salad for the first time this summer, I've made a couple different variations. I enjoy pasta salad as long as there isn't too much dressing on it. So if you need to, go ahead and add more Italian dressing to this dish, I won't be offended. Nate and I are headed to a family function and I thought this would be a good little dish to bring along. I am really pleased with the flavors. I first saw the idea over at Miss Information and just adapted it for our tastes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
16 oz. angel hair pasta
6 oz. fat free Italian dressing (again, add more if you like a really strong dressing taste)
McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning to taste (I think I added 1/2 Tbsp.)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 can of diced tomatoes (or you can use fresh, I just don't like raw tomatoes)
1 small can of sliced olives
olive oil

Preparation:
Boil pasta until al dente. Rinse noodles with cold water and drizzle with a tiny amount of olive oil, toss well. Your noodles should be cool. Mix pepper, onion, olives, noodles, Italian dressing, and salad seasoning. Taste as you go, and add more seasoning and dressing as needed. Add tomatoes in last and gently mix those in. Refrigerate salad until serving.

Marinara Sauce

So good! I lost track of the times Nate said, "This is so good!" during dinner. He said it is by far the best marinara sauce he has ever had. I used this sauce in a lasagna last night and Nate declared it to be the best lasagna he's ever had. We also dipped our bread in the sauce. So I'd say this marinara sauce is a keeper! I made an 8x8" lasagna and had sauce leftover to freeze. Next time I'm going to double the recipe so I have more to freeze. I felt like a little Italian grandma with my sauce simmering away and making my house smell so good. I adapted this recipe from one over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe and according to the site, the sauce freezes well for up to six months. We loved this sauce!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 (28-ounce each) cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 Tbsp. dried basil
1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning
2 dried bay leaves
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until hot and rippling. Add the onion and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and green pepper and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until all the vegetables are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic bread seasoning, bay leaves, and parmesan cheese and simmer, covered, on low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to make sure the sauce isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook sauce until slightly thickened and the vegetables are completely tender. Taste the sauce. Add salt and pepper as needed. Remove the bay leaves. In a blender or food processor, blend the sauce (in several batches, if necessary) until it is smooth. The sauce can be frozen once it is cooled completely in freezer-safe ziploc bags for up to 6 months. Enjoy!

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Believe it or not I've never made or eaten pasta salad. I don't really care for salad dressing so I've never bothered to try it. We had a sibling dinner tonight and we were asked to bring pasta salad and drinks. I gave this easy salad a try. I simply used less dressing and I actually really enjoyed this dish. I modified a recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff and I was very pleased with the results.

Ingredients:
1 lb. rotini pasta
8 oz. Italian dressing
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 small can sliced olives
20-30 slices turkey pepperoni, chopped
5 oz. colby jack cheese, cut into small cubes

Preparation:
Boil pasta until al dente, rinse, drain, and cool. Refrigerate. Dice up veggies and pepperoni. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl making sure everything is well incorporated. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until ready to serve.

Lasagna Roll Ups

I've been meaning to try this idea for months! I don't know why it's taken me so long to make this. You know how I love pasta and this dish didn't disappoint. I really enjoyed it. Recipes like this are great, it's a new way to serve a family classic. There's no risk in trying it, because you already like lasagna! Here's how I made it, but you can put in whatever ingredients you like. I don't like ricotta, but you could definitely make a ricotta filling for the roll ups, make it how you like it!

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 lasagna noodles
1 jar pasta sauce
1 (14 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes
2 cups shredded mozzarella
garlic bread seasoning
salt
pepper

Preparation:
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with the minced onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Once beef is cooked add diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, and 1 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning. Let sauce simmer. Boil lasagna noodles, drain, and lay out noodles on a piece of parchment paper. Don't let the noodles touch or they'll stick together. In a 9x13" baking dish, add some sauce to cover the bottom. Using a slotted spoon, get some meat and spread on a lasagna noodle. Top with a little cheese and proceed to roll up lasagna noodle and filling. Place roll up in the baking dish. Repeat for remaining noodles. Once finished, top the roll ups with remaining sauce mixture and cheese. Sprinkle some garlic bread seasoning over the cheese. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until cheese on top is nice and melted. Enjoy!



My cheese is a bit over done. It was in the oven nearly 30 minutes so I adjusted the time in the recipe to 20 minutes.

Garlic Herb Pasta

Nate and I plan on serving an LDS mission together one day. I would really love to serve in Italy. The culture, the history, the food would all be amazing. I seriously love Italian food. I have finally converted Nate to liking pasta and this dish tonight was really good. This dish is flavorful enough to stand on it's own as a side dish, or you could top it with some parmesan cheese or a simple marinara sauce. Yum! We will definitely be making this again and again. I adapted this dish from an idea over at Armstrong Family Fare.

Ingredients:
8 oz. pasta, cooked and drained (I used thin spaghetti)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
seasoned salt, to taste
seasoned pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation:
Cook pasta per package instructions. While pasta is cooking place butter and olive oil into a pan, stir to mix together while butter is melting. Add chopped garlic, onion, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook until onions are transparent. Add cooked pasta and toss to combine. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Spaghetti and Meatball Eyes with Breadstick Bones

If you know my husband pretty well, you know he loves Halloween. I've seen several festive dishes around blog land and this is a fun and easy dinner. I saw this idea over at one of my favorite recipe blogs, Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Enjoy!

Spaghetti and Meatball Eyes
Simply use some sliced olives on top of your meatballs to make the eyeballs. I just used some frozen meatballs and this dinner was so easy!

Breadstick Bones
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups warm water
1 Tbsp. instant yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter, melted (for the baking sheet)

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients (except melted butter) in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread melted butter onto an 11X17-inch baking sheet. Roll out the breadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. Fold strips in half and tie knots at both ends and place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt, herbs of choice (I used my most favorite garlic bread seasoning) and parmesan cheese. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes. Bake 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown.

Tuscan Pasta

I had seen this pasta on a couple different blogs and really wanted to make it. When I went to make it for dinner tonight I noticed that it called for 1/2 cup olive oil! How is it a light pasta dish when there is 1/2 cup oil? So I decided to come up with my own version. I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into cubes
1 lb. penne pasta
1 (14.5 oz.) can of petite diced tomatoes
1/2 small onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning
2 Tbsp. olive oil
grated mozzarella cheese for garnish

Preparation:
Cook pasta until al dente, rinse, drain, and set aside. In a large skillet heat 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat, once hot add onion and cook until translucent. Add diced tomatoes, garlic bread seasoning, and chicken. Bring everything to a simmer and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add penne pasta and stir to combine everything. Cook everything for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until everything is hot. Top with mozzarella cheese if desired and serve immediately.

Taco Stuffed Shells

This is a recipe from my childhood. I got a kid's cookbook that I think was published by Betty Crocker or Better Homes and Gardens, I can't seem to find it anywhere online or I would show you. It had a lot of fun and yummy recipes. Two of the recipes I remember making were mini cinnamon sugar soft pretzels and these taco stuffed shells. I looked everywhere online for the recipe, but couldn't find it so I just had to wing it. I think they turned out really well and they were even good left over. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
8 oz. jumbo pasta shells
1 small onion, finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced
1 envelope taco seasoning plus the water it requires
1 recipe of Zesty Mexican Tomato Sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips, crumbled for garnish (optional)

Preparation:
Brown the ground beef. Halfway through cooking time add the chopped pepper and onion. Add the taco seasoning plus the water it requires and finish cooking the meat. While the beef is cooking, boil the pasta shells until they are just shy al dente, they will finish cooking in the oven. Rinse and drain the shells and let cool for a few minutes. Prep sauce. Pour enough sauce into a 9x13" glass baking dish to cover the bottom. Once the beef is finished and the shells are cool, gently spoon beef into the shells and place finished shells in the baking dish. Once finished, pour remaining sauce over the stuffed shells. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. After 30 minutes uncover the stuffed shells and top with shredded cheese. Return to oven and bake another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Just before serving top shells with some crushed tortilla chips and sliced olives. Enjoy warm.




*updated 04/06/13*

Pasta with Spicy Italian Sausage Sauce

The first few years of our marriage I barely made any Italian food. Nate claimed he didn't like pasta very much so I didn't make it. Once in a blue moon we would have pasta because I love pasta. However since I've really gotten into becoming a better cook and trying new recipes these past 9 or so months, we've tried several pasta dishes. Nate now likes pasta and I put in on our menu every other week or so. I saw this recipe over at Better than Burgers. I used mild sausage and it was just right, I'm a spice wimp. It's a super easy recipe and nice variation on pasta.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. mild Italian sausage, removed from casings (you can use hot if you want)*
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 (16 oz.) can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
salt
pepper
hot cooked pasta

Preparation:
In a large skillet, heat sausage, garlic, and onion until meat is browned. Drain any excess fat. Pour in tomatoes and tomato sauce; mix in parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over hot pasta.

*The original recipe calls for a full pound of sausage. I found that to be too much meat for my preference. I like more sauce to meat ratio, so from now on I'll just use a half pound.

Pasta Goulash

Nate is not a big fan of pasta so when he said pasta sounded good tonight I immediately changed the weekly menu to accommodate! I love pasta and I've had this recipe bookmarked for quite a while. It reminds of a story Alisha told me about noodle soup. I guess growing up Nate and his cousins used to be fed noodle soup as a dinner dish, the ingredients are elbow macaroni and tomato soup. That's it! It really does not sound appetizing to me (I'm not a fan of tomato soup) but I guess they all loved it! Anyway tonight's dish also features elbow macaroni. Paula Deen came up with this recipe and I saw it over at Mommy's Kitchen, but I changed it to my preferences. Both Nate and I really enjoyed how this turned out, I'll definitely be making this again.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 (16 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning
seasoning salt
seasoned pepper
cheese for topping (optional)

Preparation:
In a decent sized pot, cook and brown the ground beef and season it with a little salt and pepper. Halfway through cooking, add the diced onions and cook until tender. Once that is finished add the water, tomato sauce, tomatoes, soy sauce, bay leaf, and garlic bread seasoning. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the elbow macaroni, cover, and simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf and let stand, covered for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with some cheese sprinkled on top if you'd like. Enjoy!

Picture Updated 01/03/13

Creamy Cajun Pasta with Blackened Chicken

Nate LOVED this meal! He rated it an 11 on a 1-10 scale. We will definitely be making it again. I found the recipe at The Sisters Cafe. The only changes I made was to omit the sugar and I added some seasoning salt to the tomato cream sauce. This chicken is amazing! I think a salad with blackened cajun chicken and some pico de gallo on top would be divine! Enjoy!


Ingredients:
3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts halves
2-3 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1 Tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. gemelli or penne pasta
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes with onion and garlic
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp. sugar (I omitted this)
1 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt
2/3 cup cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (plus more for garnish)


Preparation:
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and keep warm. Pour tomatoes into a small sauce pan and add dry basil and sugar. Reduce the tomatoes over medium-high heat until thickened, about 10 minutes.
While tomatoes are cooking, rub chicken breasts with desired amount of Cajun seasoning. {I like to use 3 Tb but we like it spicy at our house. When I’ve used 2 Tb in the past, it has a mild kick of spice – still very delicious and probably perfect for finicky kids… or adults!} Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat (careful not to burn the oil). Add chicken and cook 7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear when pierced. Remove from skillet and slice thinly across the grain.
Once the tomatoes have thickened, reduce heat and stir in cream. Heat through but DO NOT BOIL! Toss with pasta and parmesan cheese.
Serve sliced chicken on top of pasta and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

*My Note: I just made 2 chicken breasts for the two of us. I omitted the sugar all together and added 1 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt to the tomato cream sauce. My dish came out a little creamier than the photo of the original recipe. Nate assured me that it tasted amazing!

This is the cajun seasoning I used and we loved it! Please ignore my gross nails.

Shell Pasta Bake

This was the first real dinner I made in our new place! I was really pleased with how it turned out. Nate is not a big fan of pasta but he gave this recipe a 9.5! We don’t like our tomato sauce to be sweet, but if you do, feel free to add a Tbsp. of sugar to the sauce. I got the idea from Jamie Cooks It Up, but I changed it up to suit our tastes. Here is what I did:

Ingredients:
1 lbs. ground beef
1 (20 + oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
8 oz. shell noodles
McCormick Hamburger seasoning (I always add a little of this when I make ground beef)
1 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning
1 Tbsp. butter
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
Brown ground beef and season with a bit of hamburger seasoning. Add the pasta sauce and 1 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning and stir to combine. Heat through and simmer while you cook the pasta. DO NOT overcook the pasta, just cook it ‘til al dente, otherwise you will have soggy pasta. Melt your butter and add the garlic powder, onion powder, and parmesan cheese. When noodles are finished, drain them, but don’t rinse. Pour the noodles in a mixing bowl and toss with the butter mixture. In a 9x13 pan pour some of the sauce/meat mixture. Pour noodles on top of the sauce, then pour the remaining sauce/meat over the top of the noodles. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover with parchment paper and then tin foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Baked Ravioli

Since Nate gets home so late in the evening we didn't want to go out to dinner tonight. We went out on Saturday instead. I still wanted to do something special for Valentine's Day so we had ourselves an Italian feast. Nate's parents came over for dinner so I made a 9x13" pan and we still had tons leftover, I will definitely half this recipe next time.

Cheesy Baked Ravioli

Okay, not a real recipe, just the basic idea. Cook your ravioli until almost done, it will finish cooking in the oven. I also browned some ground beef and half an onion to add to my pasta sauce. Basically you make a ravioli lasagna, layer your favorite sauce, 1/2 the ravioli, then some shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat and top with remaining sauce. Bake uncovered for 30. Add some more cheese to the top and cook 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted. That's it!


*Warning, this is the worst picture ever! I promise it tasted way better than it looks!

Herbed Chicken and Tomatoes with Pasta

This was dinner tonight and it was good!  Best thing about it is how easy it is to throw together, it’s great for a weeknight meal.  I found the original recipe at Dinner for Dollars.

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces  or you could substitute chicken tenderloins

2 (14.5 oz.) cans Italian seasoned diced tomatoes

1 envelope Lipton’s savory herb with garlic soup mix (found right next to the dry onion soup mix0

your choice of pasta

shredded parmesan cheese

 

Preparation:

Combine chicken, tomatoes, and soup mixture in your crock pot.   Cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Serve over hot cooked pasta and top with some cheese.  It’s just that easy! 

I really enjoyed this recipe, my house smelled so good while it was cooking!  Crock pot meals are not always my favorite, but I will definitely be making this one again.

Teriyaki Chicken and Noodles

Oh man, we had this for dinner tonight.  So good!  Both Nate and I really enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breast tenders

½ bag extra wide egg noodles

½ green pepper, julienned

¼ onion, julienned

6 baby carrots, julienned

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 cup chicken broth

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 cup plus 3 Tbsp. Lawry’s teriyaki marinade

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

 

Preparation:

Marinate chicken breasts in 1 cup Lawry’s teriyaki marinade for 2 hours before cooking. Start cooking chicken in a large skillet. Halfway through cooking add green pepper, onion, carrots, and garlic. Meanwhile, cook egg noodles until al dente, then drain and keep warm. In a bowl mix chicken broth, cornstarch, and 3 Tbsp. Lawry’s teriyaki sauce and add to skillet once chicken and veggies are cooked. Turn down heat to low and reduce sauce by half, stirring occasionally. If you are adding red pepper flakes, do so now. Once sauce has reduced, serve over noodles, or you can add noodles to skillet and toss to coat.

Serves 2.

 

I had my chicken over noodles.

 

Nate had his noodles tossed with the sauce.

Simple Orzo Pilaf

I made this last night to go along with an oven roasted turkey tenderloin and green beans. I got the recipe and photo from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Both Nate and I really liked it. Nate had leftovers today at work and he said they were still good.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound orzo pasta
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't want the extra calories so I left this out)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Preparation:
In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in the orzo and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the orzo and broth uncovered, stirring now and then to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pot, about 8-10 minutes, until the orzo is tender. The orzo mixture should be thick and syrupy when it is finished cooking – not dry. If it seems as though the orzo isn’t finished cooking but looks dry, add 1/4 cup chicken broth and continue to cook. When the orzo is tender, remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the green onions and cheese. Add the pepper and additional salt to taste, if needed. Garnish with additional green onions and serve immediately! The dish has a tendency to become a bit dry the longer it sits so make haste and serve as quickly as can be!

*her picture looks better than mine, so this photo is from her site

Cowboy Spaghetti

This was really good. Nate isn't a huge pasta fan so I thought he might like this. It is a nice variation on classic spaghetti. The sauce has a nice beefy undertone versus the herb flavors of normal spaghetti sauce. Nate loved the bacon. This recipe comes from Taste and Tell.

Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti
salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 pound ground sirloin
1 medium onion, chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
ground black pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup beef stock
1 (14-ounce) can chopped or crushed fire roasted tomatoes (I couldn't find fire roasted, so I just used plain crushed tomatoes)
1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
8 ounces sharp cheddar
4 scallions, chopped

Preparation:
Heat a pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and salt the water. Cook to al dente or with a bite to it.
Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and bacon. Brown and crisp bacon, 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon. Drain off a little excess fat if necessary. Leave just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add beef and crumble it as it browns, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, garlic and stir into meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Add 1/2 cup beef stock and deglaze the pan. Cook 5 to 6 minutes more then stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Add hot spaghetti to meat and sauce and combine. Adjust seasonings and serve up pasta in shallow bowls. Grate some cheese over the pasta and sprinkle with scallions. Garnish with crisp bacon. Serves 4-6.

This picture is from Taste and Tell.