Fast Italian & Tuna

This week I'm cooking from the 50th Anniversary Edition of the I Hate To Cook Book by Peg Bracken.

First, where on earth do you find an 8 oz can of tomato sauce? I hunted up and down the "Italian" aisle at my local grocery story to no avail. All I could find were family-size beomoth's of red sauce of varying flavors. I settled on 24 oz can of Bertoli's Vineyard Marinara with Burgundy Wine and hoped for the best.

Simple Ingredients

So far, things haven't gone well for me with the I Hate To Cook Book. However, reading the recipes and advice still make me laugh out loud. In this recipe, the author suggests that I "turn heat to low, set table, and apply lipstick." Yeah, right. As if my cats would care if I had lipstick on or not. 

This recipe was on the table as fast as the Back Country Ham recipe I'd made earlier. It took perhaps 20 minutes from start to finish. I put some water on to boil, then chopped the onion and garlic. 

The onion and garlic went into a saute pan with a little olive oil, and at about the same time I dropped the spaghetti into boiling water. 

By the time the onion and garlic were softened, I was ready to pour in the marinara, freshly chopped basil and a sprinkle of pepper. The basil came from my kitchen countertop Aerogarden. It's an easy way to have fresh herbs all year, and makes a great night light for long winter evenings.

Adding Fresh Basil 

After a few minutes the sauce was bubbling nicelly so I added the tuna and stirred to incorporate. What resulted wasn't a particularly pretty sauce, but it tasted great.

I drained the pasta, put it into one of my Fiestaware bowls, and dolloped on sauce.

Italian Tuna

I tasted and was pleasantly surprised. While the pasta was chewy (my fault) the sauce was yummy, and the pictures don't do the taste justice. This will definitely make it into a regular rotation meal. It's easy, fast, and tasty - just what I was anticipating from the I Hate To Cook Book!