Veterans who are rendered into
unjustified extended periods of
poverty because of the VA's refusal
to organize an emergency Claims
Amnesty program for the backlog
which Congress loves to "talk"
about and then turn around and
do nothing at all about, will
have to dig in for the long haul
until something is done to fix
the crisis.

If you are either on food stamps
or can go to food pantries will
depend on how much control you
have over picking out the groceries
of your choice.

Italian dishes are flooding the
frozen food aisles these days,
and that is quick and easy for
those who just cannot pull it
off in the kitchen. Frozen pasta
often comes out overcooked and
is mushy when it's all said and
done.

For those who are a little more
discriminating, and do have
the power of choice, Prego
brand spagetti sauce is the
best choice in canned sauce
which is also a cheaper option
for you to cook at home. The
best flavor is Italian Sausage
and Garlic, which has small
chunks of the same kind of
Italian sausage in it as is
normally found on frozen pizza's.

There is not a lot of meat in
so don't get your hopes up there.
But there is enough and has great
flavor, better than other brands,
and will easily satisfy your craving
for meat. Be sure to pick up
a jar of Parmesan Cheese in the
same grocery aisle.

Buying spagetti in the larger
3 lb. box size is a better bargain
and any brands are fine, even the
store brands. Keep the sauce and
spagetti on hand in your kitchen
as a running item.

In these times, you cannot buy
a good spagetti dinner for a
basic $3.00 in any restaurant,
and I have actually been to some
where I would have preferred to
stay at home and have the Prego.
So stick with what you can verify
as cheap, satisfying, and easy
to make.

If you live alone, you may not
need to use an entire full jar
of sauce for just one meal.
Typically one half of a large
sauce jar can be used for one
plate of spagetti, then close
the jar and put it in the refrigerator
for a second meal. That's 2 meals
from one large jar of sauce.

To cook the spagetti you will
need to buy a pasta strainer which
can be found in most stores, even
in grocery stores in the "kitchen
utensils" aisle. They come either
large or small, and it's better
if you can buy both over time
in case you have friends over
for a Super Bowl or something.

Take a deep pan around 6 inches
in diameter and full it about
2 inches deep with cold water.
Heat the water until boiling
on the stove. Open a box of
spagetti and pull out enough spagetti
spikes in your hand to make a
1 inch diameter circle. Then
place the spagetti in the boiling
water, lower the heat to medium
to keep it boiling.

Poke the spagetti around over
10 minutes to help down into
the pan and water. Cook the spagetti
for another 10 minutes or so and
check it periodically for when it's
done.

You test spagetti by bringing up
a spike along the side of the pan
with a fork, and then cut the
spike with fork to check it
for tenderness. If it cuts with
some effort and pressure on
the fork, then it is still not
ready and needs to boil a little
longer. The spikes should break
easily along the side of the pan.

Dump the spagetti and water in
a pasta strainer and let the
water run off. Then dump it on
your plate and add the sauce.

Just put the sauce in a small pan
and heat it up and then spoon
it onto your spagetti. Sprinkle
the parmesan on top, and add
some bread and butter.

Green vegetabls works best with
spagetti if you cannot make
a salad right then. Peas, broccoli,
chopped spinach, green beans,
brussel sprouts all works as
a side vegetable.

You will not normally find Prego
brand spagetti sauce in most
convenient stores. It's better
to go the distance to a major
supermarket and get what will
actually taste good to you. Other
canned sauces are thin and watery,
and it's just plain worth the
extra effort to go to a real
supermarket and get Prego.

If you have to use a food pantry,
then pick up whatever they will
allow you to have for the spagetti
package because brands really do
not matter. Then use your food
stamps for the sauce. You may also
be able to find frozen vegetables
there to go with your meal depending
on how the pantry operates.

You can add canned mushrooms or
sliced black olives to your spagetti
sauce while it is heating up,
as long you first drain the can
in the pasta strainer and then
run cold water over it to rinse
it off before adding it to your
sauce. This will add bulk to your
meal if you are exceptionally hungry
for that time around.

If you have leftover cooked spagetti,
then yes Men, it does keep in the
refrigerator if you put it in
a covered bowl. On reheating it,
just again use a pan of boiling
water and drop the cooked spagetti
in only for about 2 minutes so
the center of the spikes have
enough time to heat in the middle.
Then just drain it and put on your
sauce.