Rao's Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce

There is something about homemade pasta sauce that brings a smile to my face. It's not hard to make, but it can take a bad day and make it into something warm and memorable. I remember growing-up that my mom kept an herb garden and I would wait impatiently every year for the basil to be ready to eat indicating that pasta sauce was in my future. I loved watching the sauce boil on the stove and the smell of the garlic and herbs simmering, yum! I'll admit that when I moved out on my own in college I became lazy. I am going to share something that I am embarrassed to confess. The last two years of college I would buy a jar of Alfredo sauce and a box of spaghetti, cook them and eat that for diner for the entire week. Now granted I was a marathon runner and could easily burn off the carbs, but as I look back on the memory and cringe. I don't think I have eaten jarred Alfredo sauce since I was 23 and it is probably largely due to this habit. After getting married I decided that I was going to start making pasta sauce from scratch again. It took me some fails, but eventually I learned to make delicious sauce and I rarely if ever buy the jarred variety anymore. However, my husband has fallen in love with the Rao's pasta sauce that he bought at the store last year. I will agree that for a jarred sauce it is pretty delicious, so I was very excited when Saveur Magazine had a recipe for Rao's Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce in a recent issue.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes approximately an hour and 20 minutes of prep and cooking time and makes 4-6 servings. All the ingredients are basic and I had no problems finding them at my local grocery store. For the bacon I chose to use thick-cut bacon. I started using this variety about a year ago and I love it, I cook with it now pretty much exclusively. For the onion I used sweet onions, when they are in season (such as now) I use them frequently. After starting this recipe I discovered that I had ran out of oregano, so I substituted a teaspoon of Italian seasoning instead. I followed the remainder of the recipe as stated.

My family was very impressed with this recipe. This is more than likely the best magazine recipe for pasta sauce that I have tried. The flavor from the bacon was delicious and the taste of the tomatoes wasn't over powered by too much meat or spice. Best of all it doesn't take all day on the stove to create a great pasta sauce that I would be more than willing to serve to company. The recipe made more than enough for my family of four for dinner plus leftovers for everyone the next day. This will definitely be a recipe that I will be making again (soon).

For the recipe go to Rao's Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce.