Spaghetti with Olives and Capers

When you are in a hurry this is an easy filling meal. 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. 

 After making this several times, I made regular spaghetti sauce and everyone complained and asked for the OLIVE sauce instead. Do use the capers, a little less than called for the first time if you are new to them, but as they taste like olives they just add to the 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. 
Barilla makes a good Gluten Free Spaghetti which is what I use. Now that I am cooking for one I make the sauce and freeze it in one portion sizes. Then all you have to do is cook spaghetti and heat up the thawed sauce. 

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 in a jar or can 

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.