My Omazing Spaghetti Sauce

This weekend I made a mad dash to the grocery store without my usual menu and list in hand.   It’s impossible to shop and menu plan with the kids in tow, but I had an hour to myself, so I was able to wing it.   Fall had made an early arrival and it was a cool but sunny morning.  Something about the crisp chill in the air inspired me to make an old family favorite, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.   Summer grilling is wonderful, but by late August, I  long for my kitchen and the therapeutic process of chopping, sauteeing, simmering and stirring, usually not without a well-deserved glass of wine to relax the cook just a bit.

I rushed through the aisles, gathering the ingredients to make my mom’s famous spaghetti sauce.  I’ve only made a few adjustments to her recipe over the years, mainly substituting ground turkey for beef and starting with an all-natural base of jarred tomato sauce.   Yes, this is a sauce that would make Sandra Lee proud, as “Semi-homemade” is what usually works in our

household.   It’s a huge time-saver to start with someone else’s sauce as the base, and add your own meat and spices to taste.

I am used to making this sauce right before dinner on a weeknight, while boiling the water for the spaghetti, with my kitchen buzzing with talk of the day’s events (and plenty of sibling squabbles from tired kids, too).  It’s quick, easy and delicious.  But as I unpacked the groceries on that Saturday afternoon, I realized I had something I was not used to having, and it was something I would have much more of with the start of school this week: Time to cook!   It was like a culinary lightbulb went off in my head, and I decided I would dust off the crockpot and take advantage of a lazy afternoon by refusing to rush through the cooking process.  I knew the flavor would be richer, and my soul would be fed by filling the kitchen with the aromas of an italian restaurant.

As the sauce bubbled away in the corner of the kitchen, my daughter looked up from her back-to-school “About Me” project and asked me, quite simply, “Mommy, is that dinner I smell?”   I was delighted.   What was usually a rushed, stove-top creation was slowly coming alive, and enticing her to the dinner table hours before it was ready.   Several times throughout the afternoon she asked if she could “PLEASE!” have some of that “stuff I smell in the pot.”   While I managed to hold off her cravings, she devoured her spaghetti dinner when the time finally came to eat it as a family.  She asked for it for lunch the next day as well.

It’s amazing when our kids teach us a lesson, isn’t it?  My daughter’s response to a slow, home-cooked meal showed me the value in taking a break from our constant state of motion.   I realize that dinner is not something that many moms can or want to take hours to prepare.  But it’s not just about cooking – the lessons of slowing down, using all of our senses to take in and enjoy the world, are applicable to all aspects of our daily lives.

The Yoga term for “God”, or the Divine, is “Om.”  Om is used as the sound of humming, and Patanjali says in Book One, Verse 27 of the Sutras, that this humming is ever present – sometimes it is heard as cars whirring by, or birds chirping outside of our window.  Maybe you hear a distant neighbor’s lawn mower, or an airplane overhead.  The world is always humming around us, we are just usually moving too fast and talking so loud we cannot hear it.  (The word Om encompasses all religions and beliefs, it is merely a statement representing a higher presence than ourselves).  If we learn to stop, and slow down, we are then able to witness and enjoy all that God has given us.  If a four-year-old can do it, then so can I.

I am blessed to have the time to prepare healthy, home-cooked meals for myself and my family, and by taking the time to do so, even just once in a while, I am filled with peace, love and gratitude.

After all, they don’t call it “comfort food” for nothing!

The PranaMama’s Omazing Spaghetti Sauce

• 1 Jar of All-Natural Tomato Sauce
• 1 pound of ground turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
• Fresh Oregeno, Basil and Crushed Red Pepper to taste
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. sugar or maple syrup

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion and garlic until soft.  Add meat and spices and heat until meat is cooked through.  Add meat mixture, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes with juice, and sugar to a slow-cooker.  Heat for 6-8 hours, stirring every hour and adding water as needed for desired thickness.

Serve with pasta and enjoy!

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