Creamy Red Pasta Sauce

Dude has been in the kitchen again!  In these Kids in the Kitchen recipe, Dude (age 6) plans a recipe, does all the cooking (with adult supervision and assistance, especially with cutting and hot things), takes his own photos (and sets up props), and then writes a short blog piece about the recipe.

This recipe was a little different than the previous ones, where Dude followed a recipe from a book.  This time, he made up his own!

When he asked if he could make spaghetti with meat sauce, I was about to let him brown some meat and pour a jar of sauce over it, but when he wanted to blog about it, I knew we had to make it a little more special.

So I went to the fridge and started pulling sauce-friendly ingredients out: cream cheese, parmesan, asiago.  Garlic, onion, and all sorts of herbs.  Even red & white wines (to which the comment was, “oh red wine, of course.”  Haha he’s a little connoisseur!)

As the meat cooked, we went through the ingredients and Dude decided what we’d put in.  At the very end, he and I tasted the sauce (it was delicious), but he decided it needed just a little something more and finished it off with a few cracks of black pepper. 

Now here’s Dude, my little chef in the making:

It tastes super good.  The rosemary tasted yummy!  My favorite part was the cream cheese because it made the sauce smooth and creamy.

Creamy Red Pasta Sauce

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup dry red wine

1 (24 oz) jar pasta sauce

1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced

1 tsp dried basil

¼ tsp dried marjoram

8 oz cream cheese

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 lb rotini (or pasta of choice), cooked to al dente

Cook the beef and onion in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks.  Cook until the onion is soft and the meat is browned.  Drain off any excess grease.

Add the garlic and the red wine, cooking until the wine mostly evaporates.

Stir in the pasta sauce, herbs and cream cheese.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted and the sauce is heated through.  Add a few cracks of fresh black pepper and serve over pasta.