Uses For Spaghetti Sauce

Last night I posted about the great deal that I got on spaghetti sauce this week. Since spaghetti sauce is something that you can pick up cheap or even make yourself on the cheap, I figured that a list of some uses for spaghetti sauce would be helpful. Spaghetti sauce is a pretty versatile product and can be a great addition to the frugal pantry.

Here are some alternative uses for spaghetti sauce:

1. Zesty Chip Dip - Combine equal parts sour cream and pasta sauce in a bowl; stir in grated Parmesan cheese, ground pepper and oregano.
2. Minestrone Soup - Boil 1 jar pasta sauce and 5 cups water. Stir in cooked small pasta, chopped mixed vegetables, canned beans and grated Parmesan cheese; cook until vegetables are tender.
3. Stuffed Mushrooms - Mix breadcrumbs, chopped mushroom stems and grated Parmesan cheese with a bit of pasta sauce; stuff into mushroom caps, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 400 for 30 minutes.
4. Cocktail Sauce - Mix pasta sauce with horseradish and hot sauce to taste; serve with shrimp.
5. Pizza Potato - Make a deep slit in baked potatoes, then stuff with some pasta sauce, chopped pepperoni and shredded mozzarella; bake at 400 until the cheese melts.
6. Buffalo Wings - Lightly coat chicken wings with equal parts pasta sauce and hot sauce; roast at 425 for 40 minutes.
7. Stewed BLT - Cook chopped bacon in a deep skillet; add pasta sauce and escarole and cook until greens are tender.
8. Sweet and Sour Franks - Brings 4 cups thinly sliced onions, 1 cup pasta sauce, 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons brown sugar to a boil; cover and simmer 40 minutes. Serve on hot dogs.
9. Taleggio Panini - Spread pasta sauce between 2 slices of crusty bread and top with taleggio cheese; cook in a buttered skillet or panini press.
10. Italian Quesadilla - Spread some pasta sauce on a tortilla; top with grated mozzarella cheese, sliced mushrooms and shredded chicken; fold in half and pan fry until golden.
11. Poached Cod - Simmer pasta sauce in a skillet; add cod fillets, cover and cook until just firm; top with chopped herbs.
12. Eggplant Rolls - Grill or broil thinly sliced eggplant until tender. Spread with pasta sauce and ricotta cheese; roll up and secure with toothpicks.
13. Greek Beans - Simmer pasta sauce with a cinnamon stick, a bay leaf and a splash of red wine vinegar; serve over white kidney beans; top with feta cheese.
14. Polenta Bites - Slice a tube of premade polenta into rounds. Broil until heated through; lightly top with pasta sauce and grated fontina; broil until cheese melts.

These tips all came from a pullout in the February/March issue of Food Network Magazine. The pullout is titled "50 Things to Make With a Jar of Pasta Sauce." There are a lot of good ideas in there, these are just the ones that I would like to try first. This little booklet will be going in my recipes to try folder.

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