Simply Cherrific Filipino-Style Spaghetti

Cooking for my family is one of my greatest joys. Although I don't get to do it very often because I am a full-time working mom, I cherish weekends when the kids request that I cook their favourite food. With all honesty, I am not good at kitchen but I pour all my effort and heart in every opportunity I get to come up with a nutritious and delicious food for my family.

This Filipino-style spaghetti recipe that I am going to share with you today is husband/kids/friends-approved. I cook it during special occasions, whenever my friends visit us at home or when my hubby and the kids simply crave for it. I added Simply Cherrific in its title because my first name is Cherry and I tweaked the most common Filipino-style spaghetti recipe to make it my own signature. Instead of the usual hotdogs, I added meatballs instead.

Ingredients:

• 500g Fairprice Spaghetti 
• 2 tablespoons Fairprice Grapeseed Oil
• ground pork
• meat balls
• sweet-style spaghetti sauce
• tomato ketchup
• 1 white onion, minced
• 1 ripe tomato, minced
• 1 baby carrot, minced
• salt and pepper 
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• parsley leaves for garnishing

Instructions:

1) Cook the spaghetti pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. 

TIP: Don't forget to add oil to the boiling water to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other. Since I don't add too much salt in my spaghetti sauce, I also make it a point to add a pinch of salt to the boiling water when cooking the pasta. This particular FairPrice Spaghetti Pasta I used is also from Italy like most of the pasta variety we get from supermarkets. I have to say it did not disappoint my expectations of a premium quality pasta.

2) Heat the 2 tablespoons of FairPrice Grapeseed Oil in a cooking pot. Make sure not to overheat. I don't normally use grapeseed oil in cooking, it's my first time using it last Children's Day to cook the kids' favourite spaghetti and fortunately it didn't change the taste of my usual recipe at all. It has clean, light and neutral flavour which retains the natural taste of ingredients. It is suitable for wide variety of cooking needs such as baking, sauteing, frying or in marinades and salad dressings. It originates from Italy.

3) Saute the onion (and garlic, optional). I don't usually add garlic to suit my family's taste and preference. 

4) Add the ground pork. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

5) Pour the sweet-style spaghetti sauce. Stir and let it boil. Simmer for 60 minutes.

6) Add the meatballs, minced carrots & tomato and 2 spoonfuls of tomato ketchup (optional). Stir and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens. 

7) Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

8) Arrange the spaghetti pasta in a serving dish, pour the meat sauce over the pasta, top with shredded cheese and garnish with parsley.

Serve with love and bon appétit!

You are welcome to tweak my recipe according to your own liking. You may opt to use other pasta like Fusilli, Penne or Elbow Macaroni which are all available at FairPrice Housebrand as well. Adding minced tomato and carrots is also optional. I prefer adding it because the kids dislike eating tomato and carrots on its own. When mixed with the meat sauce, they cannot really taste and tell there are camouflaged veggies in it. 

Disclaimer:

This post is brought to you by Sweet Memoirs x FairPrice collaboration. We were provided with a bagful of FairPrice housebrand products in exchange of this post. No other monetary compensation was received and all photos are my own.