Spaghetti for a Crowd! Freezer Friendly :)

My last and final recipe to make one / take one and it sure was a crowd pleaser!!  I hope the sweet family enjoyed it as much as we did last night!  This Spaghetti for a Crowd recipe (the way I make it) would feed 6 adults easily.  I was amazed at how much it made.  You're taking one jar of spaghetti sauce and stretching it in unbelievable ways! Haha!  DH and I both had huge servings, have enough for both of us to have lunch... and we still have a hearty serving left over that I'm going to stick in the freezer for one of those nights that you need dinner ready real quick - you know like 5 minutes ago? ;)  A big huge plus is Little One enjoyed the sauce!  He's not big on the texture of pasta - weird, I know! - but gobbled up the sauce since it is hearty.  It's super easy to throw together!  I love meals like these.  I hope you enjoy it too!  

Spaghetti for a Crowd - from this recipe 

(Makes 2 servings)

2 large cans / jars of your favorite pasta sauce

2 cans diced Italian style tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, minced (I left this out of hers, but added some to mine before cooking. Oops!)

1 cup chopped fresh basil (optional)

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, shredded (I actually used 1 large and 2 smaller carrots)

2 lb browned ground beef or turkey (optional) (I ended up using just 1 lb browned ground turkey for both bags and it was a good ratio, for me)

salt / pepper to taste

freezer safe gallon bag

Brown 1 lb ground turkey with a little bit of olive oil.  Make sure it's in small pieces when it's done. Let it cool before putting it in the freezer bags.

Meanwhile, gather your other ingredients.  I put the Prego sauce & a squeeze of basil in the 'Take' bag and just used the Tomato Basil sauce for our jar.  Dice the pepper and onion into a small - medium dice.  I used red peppers because that's what I had on hand.  Little One ate those okay.  It was nice because in the end, they didn't totally stick out of the red sauce.  This might be a sneaky way to get your Little One to eat them too? ;)  Peel and shred the carrot.  This, honestly, was the hardest part because it makes a mess! Haha!

Put everything in the bag.  Shake it up, seal, label.  Instructions for the bag:  Cook on low 3-4 hours, serve over pasta and top with parmesan.  You have the option of putting this in the freezer now too!  The night before you want to use it, stick it in the refrigerator and let it thaw so it's ready to go when you are the next day.

This was so easy I actually made both recipes the night before and put them in the refrigerator.  Yesterday morning I delivered the 'take' bag and yesterday afternoon I pulled mine out of the fridge and stuck it in the crockpot.

And 3.5 hours later it was delicious!  It almost had the consistency of chili - without the beans and chili flavoring.  All the flavors meld together and it's a super combination.

Cook up pasta of your choice.  I chose whole wheat spaghetti.  Serve!
We had ours with a side of broccoli and I took a loaf of french bread to enjoy with the 'take' bag.

The Verdict

This recipe is a definite keeper for us.  We don't eat a ton of plain spaghetti around here because my DH is not a huge fan of just pasta and sauce.  So, this recipe with its heartiness and the added protein of the turkey included was a hit with DH.  And it was so great that Little One ate it too.  I'm always struggling to get more iron and protein into his diet.  This sauce is fantastic because you can add any kind of vegetable to it you'd like.  Shredded zucchini or squash.  Eggplant and mushrooms instead of the meat to make it a hearty vegetarian dish.  You could even toss in a can of beans in place of the meat too.  I love recipes like this that are so customizable and easy to use 'on-hand' ingredients. 

Make this "Spaghetti for a Crowd" and invite the neighborhood over!  It will spread love and cheer and full-bellies! :)