To celebrate my freedom from the madhouse (and to impress my hungry habiby who came to visit), I cooked a big batch of homemade spaghetti last Saturday.

I found a fail-proof recipe online and decided to push my (limited) kitchen skills to the uh, limit.

Here’s that recipe I told you about:

What you’ll need:

1. Spaghetti noodles
2. Tomato paste
3. Minced beef
4. Onion, chopped
5. Garlic, minced
6. Green bell pepper, diced
7. Black olives
8. Salt
9. Pepper
10. Cream cheese (optional)

Steps:

1. Boil spaghetti noodles. Strain and set aside.
2. On a large frying pan, saute the onions, garlic, and bell pepper.
3. Add the minced beef. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour in tomato paste and some water (depending on the texture you prefer).
5. Once the sauce is bubbling, sprinkle with black olives.
6. Serve and enjoy.

In the absence of an oven, I used cream cheese on top to get the same stickiness as fresh baked melted cheese.

Mid-week, I found myself in a fix with too much extra noodles and too little red sauce. I googled “Leftover pasta recipes” and found interesting pasta frittata and muffin recipes, but I chose to make this one because of its simplicity:

What you’ll need:

1. Cooked spaghetti noodles
2. Broccoli, boiled or steamed
3. Onion, chopped
4. Garlic, minced
5. Chili flakes
6. Salt
7. Pepper
8. Lemon
9. Black olives (optional)

Steps:

1. Saute onion, garlic, and broccoli.
2. Add cooked spaghetti noodles.
3. Mix all the ingredients. Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes.
4. Once cooked, sprinkle black olives and squeeze lemon juice.
5. Serve and enjoy.