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A simple Beef (Not!) Recipe

Hello all!

Well, I've had a bag of beef (not!) sitting here for at least a month,
waiting for me to think up something to cook.
So tonight I decided that this was it, that stuff was going to be
tonight's dinner.

I made a pasta sauce with it & had it over Ziti. Even my SAD Father ate
a heaping plate of it, remarking "Hey, for fake beef its really good!"
=)
The only thing we both noticed was that it seemed a bit sweet, any ideas
on how to combat that??

Here's what I used: (approximates)
1 cup Beef (Not!)
1 28oz. jar of Ragu Hearty Mushroom spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. of minced garlic (this was from a jar- maybe 2 cloves fresh)
1 medium onion diced
1/4 cup red cooking wine
1/4 cup water
and a little bit of everything from the spice cupboard =) I hardly ever
measure anything, just dump it in to taste. I used: garlic powder, chili
powder, black pepper, italian seasonings, oregano, paprika, parsley,
dehydrated vegetable flakes, garlic salt, garlic pepper... But just add
what you like, in whatever amounts you like.

First, in a sauce pan,  I heated 1 cup of Ragu & added the garlic &
onion & some spices to that. I mixed the 1 cup of Beef (not!) into this
hot sauce & then put it in a bowl, covered with saran wrap & microwaved
for 2 minutes. (I thought that it already tasted fine).
Dumped this back into the pan with the rest of the sauce from the jar. I
thought it seemed a bit thick, so I rinsed the jar with water & dumped
that in. I added more spices & the wine & cooked it for maybe 30
minutes. It is very thick. I think its a perfect pasta sauce at this
consistency. 
In the mean-time I had started the ziti cooking. So when the ziti was
finished we ate.
I toyed with the idea of making a "baked ziti" but was too hungry to
wait.
It was extremely filling. Have enough "sauce" left for at least 2
servings. My father had parmesean cheese, & LOTS of red & black pepper
on his. I think it would be perfect with Pecorino Romano (for those who
do eat cheese). But I just ate mine plain. 
I think if you used this "sauce" with some type of cheese, say in a
lasagne, it would be less sweet tasting.
None-the-less, it was very good, and my father thought it was very good
too.
So, I hope someone can use this idea & I hope you like it!


Aprille

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