Campfire Pasta (aka Pasta with Meat Sauce)

About a year or so ago, I was looking for recipes that called for ground beef and I found a recipe for "Noel's Spaghetti" in Noel Piper's book Treasuring God in Our Traditions. Her recipe makes a HUGE vat of pasta sauce that is perfect for a crowd. My crowd is not nearly as big as hers so I've modified the recipe a bit and cut down the amounts. Also, since we prefer penne to spaghetti at our house, we typically serve this over penne with a sprinkling of shredded parmesan cheese. When I served it to Ella the first time this way, she said, "It looks like a campfire." So, now it is called "Campfire Pasta" at our house.

I usually make a batch or two of this sauce at a time - it is perfect for a freezer meal! For our family of four (2 adults, 2 kids), we usually eat half at a meal with a serving left over for Brett's lunch. Then I freeze the other half of the sauce (about 2 cups) in a quart-sized Ziploc bag for use at a later date. Since I normally have pasta in the cupboard, it makes for a great quick meal when I don't have the time or energy to cook something else.

Campfire Pasta

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

3 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt*

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 (30 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 bay leaf

4 drops Tabasco sauce

8 ounces penne pasta, cooked according to package directions

shredded parmesan cheese

*Depending on the amount of salt in your canned tomato sauce, you may need to increase or decrease the amount of salt to your tastes.

1. In a large saucepan, brown the meat and drain off the fat.
2. Add onion, spices, tomato sauce, bay leaf and Tabasco sauce. Cook over low heat for thirty minutes. Remove the bay leaf.
3. Spoon sauce over cooked penne pasta and sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese.

For links to other Beef Recipes, stop by Ultimate Recipe Swap at LifeAsMom.