One of the first books that I came across when starting this blog was Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett. The book and its sequel, Pickles To Pittsburgh, seemed perfect for this blog – food and a slightly ridiculous story that would appeal to kids eight to 12.

My eight-year-old son Nathan picked the book up at the school library last month. I was thrilled – finally he’s reading something that isn’t about sports, wacky facts, or bodily functions! It must have been the illustrations and the story:

The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers.

Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse. The food got larger and larger and so did the portions. The town was a mess and the people feared for their lives. Something had to be done, and in a hurry.

I don’t know about you, but a story like this makes me hungry for spaghetti covered in tomato sauce, one of Nathan’s favorite meals.

My son, the “pastaterian”

Nathan became a “pastaterian” (someone who only eats pasta – or would if his parents let him) a couple of years ago. Needless to say, I make a lot of pasta and spaghetti sauce. I usually make sauce from “scratch” using the ever present supply of Italian venison sausage in our freezer and tomato sauce and diced tomatoes in cans. (Unless it’s the end of summer and we have fresh tomatoes.)

My recipe for homemade sauce is easy. I brown the sausage (you could use ground turkey or beef – just add more seasonings later) along with two to three large minced cloves of garlic. Then I add several cans of tomato sauce/diced tomatoes/pureed tomatoes, and season with basil, oregano, and maybe some red wine to taste. Then I bring it to a boil and simmer the sauce for a little bit…or until the hungry masses descend.

Quick dinners with Ragú

My sauce is easy to make, but it’s not very quick. Luckily, I’ve found a great new product to make “spaghetti night” even easier – Ragú® Fresh & Simple Pouches.

Ragú sent samples of their “Tomato, Onion & Garlic” and “Garden Veggie” sauces for me to try. At first I was rather resistant thinking that like many commercially made sauces, it would be full of added sugars or corn syrup. NOT! The sauces are sweetened with concentrated carrot juice, making them super delicious and healthy.

We did a family taste test with my homemade vs. Ragú’s sauces. After clipping off the top, I popped the poaches in the microwave and zapped them for 90 seconds. Wish I could cook the pasta that quickly.

My husband liked the Garden Vegetable sauce, which I liked but thought had too much green pepper in it. Nathan liked the Tomato, Onion & Garlic, which I loved, too. Lucie like my homemade venison Italian sausage, garlic and red wine sauce the best. (Love that girl!)

But we all agreed that the sauces were terrific and that we’d have them at any time. I thought they’d be terrific to take RV camping. Unlike glass jars, the poaches are light and won’t brake as you drive down the road.

More from Ragú

Check out Ragú’s Feed Our Kids Well website for nutrition information, healthy eating tips, and recipes. You may want to sign up to get the Feed Our Kids Well Recipe Book, too. (I did!) There’s also a Ragú Recipe Widget to download on your computer as a desktop meal planning tool. I loved Ragú’s recipe section, too, so check it and their Fresh & Simple Pouches in the pasta sauce aisle of your grocery store today!

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