A week ago or so, my best friend, Jenny, texted me asking for a dinner idea that was fast and yummy. My mind immediately went to lazy spaghetti. An incredibly fast meal, this pasta dish takes advantage of egg noodles and cream cheese. It has got comfort totally covered.
I get another text about a half hour later, this time asking what I would do with Brussels sprouts. When I was a kid, I was all about fresh, green vegetables. Very strange, I know. Brussels sprouts were my favorite of the green variety because they were tiny versions of cabbage. I don't know how to explain this very well, but as a little girl, I liked anything that was a miniature. An object's size was inversely proportional to its cuteness, in my mind. Tiny cabbage=exponential adorability. As a child, I usually ate them boiled with a bit of salt. Now my favorite method is sauteed in a skillet with olive oil and garlic and shallots if I have them on hand.
Yes, garlic and shallots. I am having a love affair with the Genus Allium and I make no apologies.
After these texts, I couldn't get the idea of lazy spaghetti and Brussels sprouts out of my head, so I made a quick run to the store and made a date with my kitchen!
For lazy spaghetti, these are your ingredients:
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 lb. ground chuck
1 half bar cream cheese
1 bag egg noodles
Now, I know that isn't a jar of spaghetti in the picture. It is totally plain tomato paste and sauce. That is because I personally do not eat store bought sauce. I am not being elitist when I say that, I just really cannot stand dehydrated onions and I haven't ever found a ready made sauce that doesn't include them. Some brands have excellent flavor, but those onions are a deal breaker for me. I make my own sauce at home, so I included the tomato bases I use in the picture. I promise to do a post on my sauce at a later date, but for now, just use whatever sauce you like best!
Before I tell you how to throw this together, I want to give credit to the person who introduced me to it. There is this very sexy, sultry, A&M Texas mama named Eva Mikeska who is a great friend of mine from when I lived in Texas, myself. I was at her house one night, and she threw this together while carrying on a conversation with me and taking care of her young son. I have made a lot of other pasta dishes, but I had never tried cream cheese in the sauce and egg noodles instead of the traditional spaghetti pasta. It was delicious and I was over the moon with seconds and thirds. I never got her exact measurements, but I just put in the amount that tasted good to me. I always send her good vibes whenever I eat this because it is just so tasty and satisfying!
Ready for the easiest cooking directions of your life? OK.
Brown your ground chuck.
Heat your sauce and add the meat.
Boil and drain your egg noodles.
Add your meat sauce and cream cheese to the noodles, like this:
Stir.
Serve.
Eat like a whale.
It is genuinely one of the easiest meals with such a big YUM factor I have ever partaken in making or eating. Please do yourself a favor and make this.
Now, for the Brussels sprouts. I normally have a picture of the ingredients, but I completely forgot to get that done until they were already finished, so I just have a few instructions. If your sprouts are fresh, clean them. If they are frozen, thaw and clean them. Get a tablespoon or two of olive oil heating in your pan. Throw some minced garlic and/or shallots in the oil first, move them around a bit, and then add your sprouts. Stir them from time to time, letting them brown up in places without getting burnt. When they have a good green and caramel color, remove them from the heat and serve.
Together, this is what your plate might look like:
I swear, I am drooling looking at this picture and remembering how good it tasted. I really hope you get a kick out of how quick and delicious this meal is. Let yourself be lazy in the kitchen every once in a while and make a great meal without breaking your back! Have a great weekend, friends, and always eat well!
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