I sit in my kitchen as my stomach rumbles, I ponder what’s on the menu for dinner. Oh, that’s right. My parents are out again and they left me no pizza money. Classic. I don’t want to spend my own money so I guess have to make something myself.  I scramble through my refrigerator to see a jar of marinara sauce. Not my favorite Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce, but it’ll do the trick. I speed walk over to the closest to discover a box of Barilla Jumbo pasta shells. Game over. Time for some pasta.

Here is a walk through of creating an amazing dish that is both easy to make and delicious.

• First things first, wash your hands.
• Get your materials ready. A pot, a stove top, spaghetti noodles, Rao’s red sauce*, a wooden spoon, basil, parmesan flakes, strainer, meatballs, red pepper flakes and a measuring cup are all necessary.
• Grab the measuring cup. Using it, pour three cups of water into the pot. Place the pot over the stove accordingly. You want to make sure the pasta is being cooked!
• Turn the stove up to 365 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, this is where the anticipation comes in – waiting for the water to boil while your mouth is watering.
• Now you turn to the main ingredient. The noodles. Gently pour them into the pot. It is important to wisely pick your noodles. I consistently purchase Barilla noodles. They’re cheap and delicious. Best of both worlds! I prefer their spin spaghetti or their jumbo shells.
• Next step is to stir the pasta. Use the wooden spoon and slowly stir the pasta. This is always my favorite part of crafting this dish. It is also the most important. Failing to stir fluidly may result in undercooked noodles and no one wants undercooked food.
• The time has come to test a singular noodle. This is the moment of truth. Pick up a singular noodle with the wooden spoon and wait 20 seconds for it to cool down. When the noodle has cooled, taste it and determine if it is cooked thoroughly or not. If not, continue to stir and test again after a couple of minutes.
• Jam the stove off, grab the pot, and head over to the sink. Grab the strainer on the way. It is time to make the biggest handoff of your career. Spilling boiling water never results well. Over the sink, slowly but surely pour the pasta into the strainer from the pot. The strainer takes all the water away. It’s butter time! Find a clean butter knife and apply 3 servings of butter to the pasta. It is crucial to then mix the pasta again so the butter gets to every noodle. Most people use less butter, but I add more because I love it so much.
• Your pasta journey is reaching its end! Savor every moment of this tedious process.
• Pour the buttered pasta from the strainer to a solid covered bowl. Time to get saucy! Pour 5-7 tablespoons of marinara over the pasta. Shake the bowl up and down until every noodle is evenly coded with sauce.
• Ready to spice it up a bit? Good. Add red pepper flakes and basil to enrich the flavor.
• The pasta is complete. Make sure to add parmesan flakes to your bowl of pasta before consuming. The parmesan ties the whole dish together.
• Time to chow down and enjoy. You just made some grade A pasta!

My pasta recipe has been consistent for years. I make this for dinner at least once a week, and often for my family. The pasta has always been praised highly by my family. When I asked them what I could do differently, I got a variety of expert advice.

My oldest sister Casey has always had a problem with my buttering skills. She argues that, “An excessive amount of butter is not necessary when making pasta with marinara sauce. It takes away from the savory taste of the sauce. I prefer a lot of butter when making plain buttered noodles.” Interesting point. Maybe next time I’ll add less butter and see how it goes.

My mother had no critique to my pasta. She makes pasta the same way. After all,  she was the one who taught me when I was younger. I decided to ask my mother a different question instead. I asked her what her favorite thing about pasta was. She answered quickly, claiming “Pasta is so easy to make and clean up afterwards. I’m usually the one responsible for doing the dishes and I appreciate the easy clean up afterwards.”

My dad had a completely different answer to the same question. He stated that, “Pasta is the best food to refrigerate and eat later. It doesn’t get bad and tastes nearly as delicious fresh as it does out of the microwave.” I agree completely with what he had to say. I constantly eat my leftover pasta days after I cooked it.

I guess my pasta didn’t receive much criticism for a reason. It is in its own class and can’t be topped by any fancy pasta recipe. I encourage all to prepare this dish exactly as I did.