Mac's Kitchen Cheat Sheet: Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe uses store bought pasta sauce with modifications of my own. I like to utilise convenience when short on time. It saves me from the need to prepare stocks and I can already be assured of a good 'base' taste. In the end, I get a rich sauce tailored to my palate, perfect for a quick and good meal. I'm not much of a stickler to measurements when I cook. So, measurements I have herea re more of a rough guideline. It's all about personal preference when it comes to the amount of seasoning you'll need, or the consistency of the sauce. Preparation plus cooking time takes 30 minutes, and this recipe serves 2 portions.

Ingredients:
1. Bottled pasta sauce of your choice. (I use Prego's Fresh Mushroom)
2. 1 medium tomato (opt for canned tomato puree if blending takes too much effort)
3. 1 medium yellow onion, cut into squares
4. 1/2 can button mushrooms, sliced
5. 1 large carrot, grated
6. 2 cloves garlic
7. Mixed herbs, oregano & paprika (or any herbs of your choice)
8. 100g minced pork
9. 2 tbsp olive oil
10. Black pepper & salt to taste (I personally do not add salt as the pasta sauce already has all the salt it needs)
11. Parmesan cheese (to serve)

Some of the ingredients used

Method:

1. Cut tomatoes into quarters and blend with a little bit of water.

2. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan

3. Saute the garlic lightly and add in the minced pork and onions

4. When the onions are soft, add in the mushrooms and grated carrots

5. Add in approximately 1/4 bottle of the pasta sauce and blended tomato puree. Add more bottled sauce or water for desired consistency.

6. Add mixed herbs, oregano, paprika and black pepper to taste. I find that the paprika adds a little zang to the sauce

7. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes and ladle over cooked pasta.

Enjoy!