When we first got married, we'd have spaghetti every Thursday night, complete with pajamas and fabulous episodes of The Office when Jim and Pam were just "friends." I mindlessly combined a jar of Barilla Tomato Basil sauce and a box of spaghetti for the two of us. Yes, a box. For two people. And we ate every bit. And I'd usually have a bowl of ice cream after. Don't judge me.

While I'm all about jarred sauce if it's tasty, it's nice to have homemade sauce when you have the time, and this recipe doesn't require much at all. Brown a little meat, saute some veggies, add tomatoes, and simmer. It's really simple, and my sister eats it with a spoon sans noodles. It's that good. Toss the sauce with some whole wheat noodles, and you have a delicious and hearty pasta dish you can feel good about... provided you don't eat the box by yourself.

Easy Meat Sauce

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper (I like half of a red and half of a green)
• 6-8 large cloves of garlic
• 2 large cans of tomatoes (I used one crushed and one diced)
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano or 2 tbsp. fresh
• 1/2 tbsp. dried basil or 2 tbsp. fresh (fresh basil has such a great flavor, throw in a little more)
• salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil

First a word on dicing bell peppers. Cut off the "walls" of the pepper, and you're left with the insides that you can trash. Then cut those walls into strips and the strips into little pieces. Got it? Awesome. Moving on.

In a big skillet, heat up a few drizzles of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Brown the turkey, and make sure you season it really well with salt and pepper. Once it's cooked, move the meat from the pan to a plate, and add the onions and peppers to the pan along with extra oil if you need it. Season well with salt and pepper, and saute for about five minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and a bit brown. Then add the garlic and cook another minute. Don't go longer, or your garlic might burn. Burnt garlic=some nasty business.

Next add the tomatoes, more salt and pepper, the herbs, and the browned meat. Turn the heat to low, and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes or so. Make sure you taste it to make sure it's seasoned well. And if you like mushrooms (my husband doesn't), you can add 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms to the pan along with the onions and peppers. You could even add some red wine to the pan before you add the tomatoes for a richer sauce. This sauce freezes beautifully by the way. Just let it cool first.

So if you don't have a weekly pasta night, you should. Or a weekly something. Traditions that revolve around food are the best kind. So grab your family, your friends, and a bowl of comforting something or other, and play a game, watch a show, take a communal nap... whatever floats your boat. Except felonies. I don't endorse those. Misdemeanors? We can talk about it.