Age group(s) for this recipe:
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Estimated time:
35-40 min.

Number of servings:
4

Ingredients: (Hit your return key to start a new line)
1/2- 1 lb. ground beef*

8 oz. spaghetti

26 oz. spaghetti sauce

2 c. water

salt and pepper to taste

Italian herbs/spices, if desired.

Parmesan cheese

other options: mushrooms (drain the canned type ;-) , diced onions and/or green peppers, different meat (ex: sausage; part sausage; ground chicken or turkey)

Directions:
Brown and crumble the ground beef in a pot that's large enough to eventually hold the entire recipe, with room for stirring action. If you've chosen to add veggies or fresh mushrooms, saute' them until tender (in the same pot) when the meat's nearly done. Drain.

(If the beef is Very Lean, leaving little water and fat after cooking, you could choose to skip draining it.)

While browning the beef, the spaghetti can be broken into thirds (a good Kid Job! ;-)

Pour spaghetti Sauce into the pot. Bring to a boil, add spaghetti; reduce heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes (or until the spaghetti is tender).

Stir; sprinkle with cheese, and serve. Carrot and celery stix, fruit platter, or salad would be grand with this.

Other suggestions and comments:
Sauce can be deluxe type or the store/regional brand, your choice. The jar type, or the kind in a can (absolute cheapest). Some of us like to experiment and "play" with sauces, and some don't ;-)

There's something to be said for starting Basic, and adding to the pot, because it teaches kids that recipes are Flexible. Then, when they are on their own, with minimal equipment or kitchen space, and a roomie who says "what's a colander?" , you know they won't starve...they will know how to cook with whatever's on hand. A sturdy cook pot, pot holders, spoons, dishtowel, measuring cups timer, and simple recipes are one of the best wedding/graduation/"flyin' from the nest" gifts you could give anyone. Think 'double recipe' when buying a pot as a gift.

*Having meat pre-cooked, portioned, and frozen is extremely handy for such meals. Likewise, minced and dried (or frozen) veggies can save minutes, and fingers, on busy nights. Slicing and Dicing skills take time to learn safely; less hurried times are best. If you simplify the process to the max, it can eventually be possible to pick up the phone and instruct older children to get dinner going, and they can do it with ease. (I am thinkin' Teenager here. Hunger is their motivation ;-)

At our house, the pre-cooked meat is portioned into zippered sandwich bags, and those bags go into a larger, heavier freezer bag. Onions go into a plastic zipper bag AND a plastic jar, so they don't skunk up the ice cubes ;-) ; diced peppers (green, red, yellow) go into sturdy freezer bags that can be Thunked on the counter top if the pieces stick to each other ;-) At some larger supermarkets, virtually any veggie you'd ever need is available pre-diced and frozen.

This is also a good pot-luck casserole. Children tend to cruise the potato chip bowl and the dessert table more than anything else, if the food's too fancy.

Rice can be cooked in a similar fashion, but I'd like to test the water/dry rice ratios, vs. guessing on them or totally relying upon a chart.