There are two kinds of cooking blogs.

The first kind spends 1,700 words explaining how Grandma harvested tomatoes by moonlight in rural Italy before revealing that the recipe requires seventeen specialty ingredients and a degree in chemistry.

This isn’t that blog because my grandma wasn’t Italian.

Today’s Recipe:

Basic Ass Spaghetti

This is the kind of meal you make when:

You’re in a temporary Airbnb.
There’s only 4 pots in the AirBnB.
You’re trying to save money.
You’d still like your kitchen to smell like someone who has their life together.

Ingredients

I believe in measuring with my heart.

So approximately:

1/3 pound ground beef (I used 85/15)
Half an onion, diced
Several cloves of garlic (enough to ward off Dracula)
Spaghetti (I only had dried, lemon flavored spaghetti but it still tasted great)
Pasta sauce (two words: store bought)
Vegetable oil
Salt
Black pepper
Garlic granules
Onion granules
Herbs de Provence

That’s it.

Nothing fancy.

No truffle oil.

No saffron harvested by monks.

Just ingredients you can actually pronounce.

Step 1: Get a big ass pot.

Put a pot of salted water on to boil.

Step 2: Give the Onion a Chop and Sizzle

Add a little vegetable oil to a skillet.

Throw in the diced onion.

Cook until it starts looking soft and translucent.

Your kitchen will immediately smell 47% more delicious.

Step 3: Invite Garlic to the Party

Add the chopped garlic.

Stir it around for about thirty seconds.

If it starts turning brown, congratulations.

You’ve waited too long.

Garlic has the emotional stability of a podcast bro.

Step 4: Brown the Beef

Add the ground beef.

Break it apart while it cooks.

Season generously with:

Salt
Pepper
Garlic granules
Onion granules
Herbs de Provence

Could I tell you exact measurements?

Absolutely not.

I seasoned until my spirit whispered,

“Yeah…that’s probably enough.”

Step 5: Sauce It Up

Drain the excess grease if needed.

Pour in the pasta sauce.

Let everything simmer together for several minutes while pretending you planned this all along.

This is where the kitchen starts smelling like somebody’s aunt who refuses to share her recipe.

Step 6: Rescue the Pasta

Your spaghetti should be finished cooking.

Drain it.

Add it to the sauce.

Mix everything together until every noodle gets invited to the sauce party.

Nobody likes a naked noodle.

Spaghetti with meat sauce pictured by a window

The Finished Product

And just like that…

Lunch!

No culinary school.

No crying.

No food delivery fees.

Just a giant bowl of spaghetti that tastes suspiciously better than the amount of effort it required.

You don’t need me to tell you to add Parmesan cheese on top. You don’t need me to tell you that it needs to be freshly grated!

Final Thoughts

One of my favorite parts of living alone is discovering that “good enough” cooking is actually…pretty good.

⭐ Basic Ass Cooking Rating: 9/10

Would make again!

Basic Ass Cooking