It’s time to talk about Walmart’s Meal Solutions again! This is the segment where I tell you what meal Walmart is highlighting for a quick and easy weeknight meal. Look for the “Tonight’s Menu” signage at your local Walmart so you can just grab & go with the things you need to make this meal:
Walmart's Menu Tonight: Spaghetti
Spaghetti Dinner Meal Solution
Ragu Spaghetti Sauce, Traditional, 26oz $1.75
Great Value Spaghetti, 16oz $.89
Great Value Grated Parmesan Cheese $2.73
Great Value Mushroom Pcs/Stms 4oz, $.55
Del Monte Cut Green Beans 14.5 oz $.82
Texas Toast Garlic Bread, 10 oz $3.22
$9.96 total for the meal-or about $2.49 each.
Of course, you don’t use an entire jar of Parmesan cheese for a single dinner, so that per person cost is off by quite a bit. . .
Now I don’t know about you, but I rarely feed my family plain old bottled spaghetti sauce over noodles & call it a meal. It just feels like cheating.
Photo by Joe Wilcox
Don’t get me wrong-I totally use bottled sauce. I had big plans to grown my own organic tomatoes this year and can my own sauce-but the plants had different ideas. Instead I got a nice case of tomato blight & no red tomatoes. So it’s store bought sauce for another year.
And we use quite a bit of jarred sauce because I love pasta! Even when I’m in a rush and it’s my last minute “what on earth am I going to feed the family” meal I still take a couple of minutes and toss a little something extra in to make the meal my own.
Here are my top ten spaghetti sauce add in’s:
Photo by Joey Rozier
1. Ground venison & onions.
2. Homemade precooked meatballs.
3. Leftover chopped or shredded cooked chicken, pork, venison or beef.
4. A can of stewed or diced tomatoes-preferably “Italian seasoned”
5. A cube of frozen homemade pesto.
6. Cream Cheese.
7. Red Wine.
8. Black Olives.
9. Minced Garlic (fresh is better than jarred)
10. A can of tuna, salad shrimp or clams.
By using a few extra ingredients anyone can take an inexpensive can of sauce and make it taste like a million bucks! So, what are your favorite ways to “dress up” jarred spaghetti sauce?
Disclosure: This post is part of a series of Meal Solutions with Walmart that some of my fellow Walmart Moms (Heather of Domestic Diva, Denise of Wholesome Mommy, and Lori at My Wooden Spoon) and I are participating in. Walmart has provided me with compensation for these posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.
****This is a sponsored post****
Read about my participation in this program at: What Are Walmart Meal Solutions?
Hi Jen,
I like to add fresh garlic and olive oil to a jar of sauce. If I need a lot of sauce, like for a lasagna, I use one jar of sauce and a large can of crushed tomatoes. Red wine is really nice if you have it laying around and another interesting add-in is ranch dressing. Thanks for all you do.
Paige
I like a lot of fresh veggies in my sauce, almost a chunky sauce, I shred carrots, dice onions, bell peppers, saute in olive oil then add in the sauce ( I have all three on hand, freezer) I also like sweet italian sausage or hot grilled then sliced into the skillet after the veggie addition. I use to buy the sweet sausage from Aldi’s cook it on the grill then slice it up, half for pasta, the other half for pizza night. Since I have no Aldi’s any more I buy whatever brand is on sale ( I prefer the turkey kind) and then voila, I am all set. I miss Aldi’s though…. Have a great week Jenn!
If I have plenty of time, I like to add beef broth to mine, then cook it down until it is thick enough again. This adds a great rich flavor to it. If I have less time, a little beef oxo is almost as good. I almost always add ground beef as well.
Jenny,
The beef broth sounds awesome, I think I am going to try this tip on my next batch of sauce on a Sunday when I have the time to really cook weel for the family.
Jenny-I never thought of adding beef broth-I can see how that would give it a great flavor booth. I always have chicken, beef & ham broth powders on hand (I have a great bulk Mennonite market pretty close) so I’ll toss some in next time.
Amyrlin-No Aldis? That’s a crime! But I agree, the veg add a lot to it (and make it healthier to boot)
Paige-I think I want to eat spaghetti at your house!
Spaghetti sauce sometimes upsets my stomach so I add a tablespoon of brown sugar to cut down the acidity. I also like to add red wine for flavor and some ground turkey.
I usually saute onions, peppers, and minced garlic, then add them along with some basil and oregano. The other suggestions sound delicious.
Venison and onions? I like your style!
But then again, you already knew that!