Family Favorites - Spaghetti with Olives and Capers

This is a very fast and easy meal for when you are in a hurry. It calls for store bought Marinara Sauce. Yes, there are lots of good recipes out there for homemade sauce, but as the purpose of this recipe is to get a meal on the table quickly we will go with the canned.

 Try the capers, a little less than called for the first time if you are new to them, they add a salty flavor. I use the Sherry as we feel it adds to the taste, but it is optional. Serve with a green salad and garlic bread and you have dinner in less than 30 minutes. The original recipe came from a Cooking Light magazine, but I have altered it to suit our tastes.

Spaghetti with Olives And Capers

8 ounces thin spaghetti

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups chopped onion (I use less as we feel 2 cups is too much)

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon celery salt (Do not leave out, this adds to the taste)

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces extra-lean ground beef

1 2/3 cups marinara sauce

1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives*

1/4 cup dry sherry

1 tablespoon capers

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; saute 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Stir in oregano, celery salt, red pepper, black pepper . Crumble beef into pan; cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in marinara sauce, olives, sherry, capers, and 3 tablespoons parsley. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. While sauce is simmering cook pasta according to package directions, omitting SALT; drain. Or as I do, just use tongs to lift into the sauce. Add spaghetti to sauce mixture. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 3/4 cups)

CALORIES 445 ; FAT 12.1g (sat 3g,mono 5.9g,poly 0.8g); CHOLESTEROL 21mg; CALCIUM 72mg; CARBOHYDRATE 60.6g; SODIUM 832mg; PROTEIN 22.3g; FIBER 5.4g; IRON 5.2mg

*For a few cents more, you can buy the olives already sliced. After trying to slice rolling olives, I opted for the pre-sliced. Saves time and fingers.