Introduction, Recipe: Spaghetti with spinach and veggie sauce, salad with croutons Play-By-Play

Introduction
Recipe: Spaghetti with Spinach And Veggie Sauce (Master File 1)

So far so good?  Here's a super easy one for you.

Spaghetti with spinach and veggie sauce, salad with croutons

Spaghetti
spaghetti, preferably whole wheat
spaghetti sauce
spinach
onion
zucchini
olive oil
any other veggies you have laying around, cut into small pieces

Croutons
1/2 baguette
olive oil
garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

• Put a big pot of water on for the spaghetti.  If you cover the pot it will heat faster.
• Lay two layers of paper towels on a plate and set aside.
• Cut the baguette into cubes.  Toss in a large bowl with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp garlic powder (more to taste), salt, and pepper.  The bread should just be coated with oil, not dripping.
• In a large saucepan heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and zucchini and saute five minutes.
• Is your water at a rolling boil yet?  If so, add 1 Tbsp salt and your spaghetti noodles.  Bring it back to a boil, then drop the heat down to a gentle boil.
• Meanwhile, add the entire jar of spaghetti sauce to the onion and zucchini.  Bring to a simmer and drop the heat so it doesn't splatter all over the place.  Let this simmer while your pasta is cooking and you work on the croutons.
• Heat a large pan over medium-high heat.  Add the croutons (in batches if necessary) and saute 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until golden brown all over.  Remove with a slotted spoon or spatula onto the paper towels.
• Drain your pasta when it's done but keep it kind of wet so it doesn't stick.
• While your pasta waits take the sauce off the heat and add a handful of spinach at a time, adding more as it wilts.
• Toss the salad with croutons and salad dressing, top with any leftover Parmesan cheese you may have, and enjoy!

Variations:
Cook 1 lb ground turkey/beef/sausage/crumbled tofu/rehydrated TVP along with the veggies for the sauce.
Just about any kind of veggie can be added to the sauce.  Some things to try would be shredded carrot, celery, bell pepper, eggplant, broccoli, olives.

So how did the first week go?  We've covered burgers, pizza, and spaghetti.  Familiar recipes with a twist.  Next week we'll start learning some knife skills and techniques to make cooking with real food faster and easier.

Your Homework
Write each of these topics down on a separate line: bake, roast, saute, chop, slice, meal plan, toast, boil.
Now do a word association for each.  Write down the first thing that pops into your mind, be it a single word or a sentence, next to each topic.  We'll revisit this later.