Roast Part 2: Beefy Spaghetti

So, Friday morning I went to the grocery store and bought a chuck roast. I planned for the roast to serve as the basis for three meals. Yesterday's post details how I made the meat that will go into Saturday night's beefy spaghetti.

For the spaghetti sauce, I used the sauce recipe in the following post on the Food Network website: Turkey Meatballs with Quick and Spicy Tomato Sauce and Whole Wheat Spaghetti, by Ellie Krieger. (If I had a clue about web technology, no doubt I could add a link taking you directly to the recipe. Alas, I have no clue.) 

Needless to say, I did not use the turkey meatball part of the recipe on this day. Nor did I use the whole wheat spaghetti, but I'll explain that later. I have made this recipe as written including the turkey meatballs, and we really liked it. That's how I knew this sauce would be good with the beef.

On Friday, while the beef was roasting in the oven, I decided to get a head start on Saturday night's dinner.    

Start by chopping one onion and three cloves of garlic. Add olive oil to a 4-quart pot over medium heat. After a couple of minutes, add the onion to the pot, sprinkle with salt, and cook until softened. Add the garlic and cook a minute or so.    Add the tomato paste. 

I like tomato paste that comes in a tube. So often recipes call for a tablespoon or two and a can is just a waste. By using the tube, you can use small amounts at a time, put the tube back in the refrigerator, and have tomato paste for another day. 

It's pretty much the same thing with chipotle in adobo. You buy it in the ethnic section of the grocery store and it comes in a can. Dump everything out of the can and chop it really finely. What you don't use for the recipe, scrape into a snack zip-top bag, label, and toss in the freezer. Then you can break off enough to use for any recipe that comes along.  

This time, I took the whole bag out, used the amount for this recipe, and put the rest in the refrigerator. (Hint: it will be used in Part 3 of the roast recipes.)  

Stir the tomato paste and chipotle into the onions and garlic for a minute or so. 

Add in the rest of the ingredients and continue the recipe as on the website.

After the sauce has cooked 15 minutes, take it off the heat and add the meat saved from the previous day's roast. At this point, I refrigerated the sauce to reheat the next day.

On Saturday, we were out of the house until about 6:45 p.m. When we got home, I put a large pot of water on to boil for the spaghetti. Instead of whole wheat spaghetti, I use Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta which is "white" pasta with extra fiber. This is close to whole wheat pasta in Weight Watcher points because of the fiber, and tastes exactly the same to me as regular pasta. 

(To let you in on how much I love this pasta, I have a case each of thin spaghetti and rotini in my basement. Frightening, I know.)

Next, I took the sauce out of the refrigerator and put it in a pot over medium heat. Watch it closely, as tomato products tend to scorch on higher heats.

Once the pasta is cooked according to the package directions for "firm," reserve a cup of the cooking liquid, drain the rest of the pasta, and add the pasta to the sauce. Toss the pasta with the sauce to combine completely. Use the reserved liquid, if needed, to thin the sauce to the desired consistency. I forgot to add the fresh basil, a fact which did not come to my mind until I was typing this entry. Don't forget the basil!

To accompany the pasta,  I decided to serve a Caesar salad, also by Ellie Krieger. (Copy the following into your bowser. Again the disclaimer regarding technology)

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/caesar-salad-grilled-shrimp.aspx

As before, I only used part of this recipe. I used the croutons and the salad, but not the shrimp. 

Here are the croutons when done:

 Mix up the dressing in the bowl in which you want to serve the salad, add chopped/sliced Romaine lettuce, and toss.

I served the spaghetti and salad on one plate. You, of course, should serve in whatever way makes you, or the ones you serve, happy!

Tune in tomorrow for Part 3....