Spaghetti Fra Diavolo

On Mondays, my family does meatless Mondays. Due to my hubby's work schedule, we eat our biggest meal, dinner, for lunch. So, I like to have quick, easy, delicious recipes on hand to cook up. I work as an adjunct dance instructor at a local community college. My last class ends at 12:15pm every day, so I'm usually home before 1pm. I like to get our meal on the table between 1:30 and 2:00. This recipe definitely fits the bill.

Spaghetti Fra Diavolo is a delicious and filling pasta dish with a wonderful spicy tomato sauce. It's quick, easy and tasty, and I bet you have all the ingredients for it in your kitchen right now!

To start, you saute garlic in olive oil. Then you add your spices and seasonings and let them cook in the oil for a bit. Adding your spices and seasonings to the oil allows them to toast slightly, and brings out their flavor more.

Next, you add your tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning. Let that cook at a low simmer while your pasta cooks. You want to pull your pasta just shy of how you like it cooked. We like ours al dente. Add your pasta, and a little pasta water, to your sauce and let the pasta finish cooking. Just another 2-3 minutes. Then serve. We like to add parmesan cheese to ours.

Spaghetti Fra Diavolo

2 - 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 - 5 cloves of garlic finely minced (I use pre-minced garlic I buy at the grocery store. I add about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 -3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (trust me, it's delicious!)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
1 - 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 pound dry spaghetti
Parmesan cheese to taste

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
In a large deep-sided skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add garlic and stir.
Add onion powder, red pepper flakes, cinnamon and black pepper.
Cook garlic and seasonings for about 2 minutes.
Pour in tomato sauce and stir to incorporate all the seasonings.
Add Worcestershire sauce and stir.
Crush Italian seasoning in your hands to release oils and sprinkle into sauce. Stir to incorporate.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.
Add pasta to water and cook according to package directions. You want to cook it 2-3 minutes shy of preferred doneness, as you will finish cooking the pasta in the sauce.
When pasta is done, add to sauce with about 1/2 cup of pasta water. Mix the pasta into the sauce to coat pasta well.
Allow pasta to cook in the sauce for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off and serve. We like to add Parmesan cheese to the top of our pasta servings.

This is one of my hubby's favorite meatless dishes. It's very filling and delicious.