Faux-Recipe: Doctoring Up Jarred Pasta Sauce

I call this a faux-recipe because it's really just building onto a ready-made product. And don't you dare call me Sandra Lee because 1) I hate her; and 2) This is more work than she would put into this, puh-lease.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to show you all an example of what you can do to jarred pasta sauce in order to jazz it up a bit. I started with a jar of Harris Teeter Organic Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce (~$3), and added the following (which is more than what is pictured below, it just all didn't fit, haha):



- Ground Beef (Emerald Family Farms; Dupont Farmers Market)
- 4 Small Organic Carrots (Dupont Farmers Market)
- 2 Cloves Garlic (Dupont Farmers Market)
- 2 White Bell Peppers (Dupont Farmers Market)
- 1 Small Onion
- 2 Heirloom Tomatoes

Side note: I'm a huge fan of this meat stand at the Dupont Farmers Market. I've gotten ground pork and ground beef from them before- it's a little pricier but not rediculous, and tastes great. They also sell whole rabbits, sausages, poultry, etc. so it's safe to say they carry a wide variety of meat items. I'm not sure if the stand is called "EcoFriendly Foods" or "Emerald Family Farms", but they are on the side close to PNC bank, next to the cheese stand with the older ladies, haha.

This faux-recipe is also called such because it's really simple. Mince the garlic, chop the onions, saute with olive oil. I then chopped and added the carrots and peppers to that. Add the meat and brown thoroughly, breaking it up into smaller pieces. Add the jarred sauce, chopped tomatoes, season to taste, and simmer.

Sauce is never really v. photogenic, but at least you get an idea of how it all comes together in the end. You could use ground pork or turkey, chicken breast, anything you want really. Same goes for the veggies- cubed eggplant, green beans, spinach, etc., as well as the sauce that you are starting with. The point is, it's an easy way to make plain jarred pasta sauce tastier, in most cases healthier, and much more filling.