Move over Rachel Ray -

Who said you can't make homemade sauce with noodles in less than 30 minutes?

And THREE ingredients to boot - plus the spices.



NOODLES AND GROUND BEEF
This is something that my mom would make when she was short on time and needed to feed us something filling and good. It's not our usual "pot of sauce/gravy" recipe - and it is so easy. A wonderful time-saver and leftovers re-heat very well! AND - if unexpected company came - we can feed them a great meal in no time! A wonderful addition to a meal as well.

Ingredients:

Ground beef
Tomato paste
Egg noodles

and yes - the seasonings and olive oil.


Heat your skillet; while that is heating - fill your pasta pot with cold water and place over high heat; cover and bring to a boil.

The skillet is now hot; add your olive oil - depending on how much ground meat there is will depend on the amount of oil you use; heat your oil.



Place your ground beef/ground sirloin/ground chuck in your prepared skillet; season to taste with Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic, onion powder, ground fennel, and parsley; cook until well-done, breaking up the meat. I had less than one pound of meat leftover from something else I had made - just enough for this dish.





Once well-cooked, add your tomato paste (which today was one 6-oz. can); add 1 1/2 cans of cold water; stir in; season with Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic, parsley, basil, a bit of marjoram, a pinch of chili powder; mix well; reduce heat; cover and let simmer until the noodles are cooked. Tomato paste is a cooked product - no need to cook any longer than needed.



I washed my fresh head of lettuce and tomato; pat dry with paper towels and made a simple salad of lettuce and tomatoes, with olive oil, vinegar, Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper.

By now the water is at a full rolling boil; add salt (be generous - it doesn't hurt) and wait for the water to return to a full rolling boil; add egg noodles and cook al dente.



Drain noodles and add to sauce pan; mix well.



I had a rye roll with mine today.



It's so simple to make this dish. Very tasty, very filling, very fast!