Which do you prefer, or does it matter!?

[KLD1019]

Growing up, my mawmaw always kept the noodles seperate from the sauce when having spaghetti and everyone fixed how ever much they wanted. BUT....when it came time to put all the food up, she would then add the noodles to the sauce. My sister and I HATED it!! I cant explain why or what, but there's a difference! :o

DH thinks im crazy.....as did my family with my sister and I!! He wants the noodles in the sauce. I cant stand it! LoL but put them in anyway. :rolleyes:

So, when having spaghetti for dinner/supper, do you keep the sauce and noodles seperate or do you mix it all together!? And do you think there is a difference!?

[MSUMom]

Actually, I have always done like your mawmaw did. I have a spaghetti sauce recipe that I simmer on the stovetop for about 4 hours. I cook the noodles seperately and then if there is any left I put the noodles in the pot. But with 2 teen boys and sometimes their friends, there is not a lot left over anymore!!

Last week I did the sauce in the crockpot and forgot to periodically add more water. I then put the spaghetti in to cook with the sauce, like my mother used to do. It was not good at all.

I usually make this sauce in the winter and on the weekends since I work full time except in the summer. I have also frozen what was left and used it in a soup that I added maybe some canned tomatoes and canned corn to. Those boys inhaled that, and it was a "free" meal since it was all left overs that I had frozen over several weeks. It may not sound very good, but it was. :)

[margeslp]

I much prefer having the sauce mixed through the noodles and on the dry size, please. I even like the sound of it. I always make large amounts to freeze for lunches so always coat the pasta so it doesn't stick together.

[Jamieamcbride]

I typically add the pasta to what ever sauce I am making. However, I leave some out...especially if I am making alfredo sauce...so that my oldest will eat it.

[Belle205]

I cook mine separate. I cook my sauce for a couple of hours and then boil my spaghetti in a separate pot. If there is any left I put the spaghetti in a dish and put the sauce on top then it's Baked Spaghetti. Everyone hates this so they always try to eat it all so there won't be any leftovers. :rolleyes: My Baked Spaghetti is a house joke! :rolleyes: I usually am the one that eats it. I like to add cheese, nuke it and douse with Frank's hot sauce...yummy to me!

[shannonmbp]

I initially serve it separately. If there are only enough leftovers to take for lunch the next day, I mix them together. If there's enough sauce leftover to freeze, I freeze the sauce by itself. Don't know why--I never really thought about it. Hmmm.

[Phoenixcokking]

I keep the sauce and past separate even t store leftovers I try not to have any pasta left , so I make only what I think we willl eat. I keep a pot of water simmering on the stove top in case anyone wants a second helping the I cook a few more noodles.

[MindaAnn]

I serve sauce and noodles separately. Probably because thats the way it was when I was growing up.

[grits]

Serve them seperatley. Maybe because one sauce has meat and one is veggie usually. If I make an "alfredo" sauce I mix them together.

[soozeecooks]

Separately. I put them away separately too. They get too soft with sauce on them and then break up when you try to get a spoonful out for lunch the next day. Separate..I can run water over them to separate them and add the sauce or whatever else I may want the next day!

[gingersnap]

Always separate. The pasta soaks up the sauce and it's too mushy after it sits. It's almost the same as mixing the leftover gravy with the rice, or adding the rice to the gravy before serving it. YUCK!

[Snapdragon]

I make a very large batch of meat sauce with ground meat and Italian sausage and serve them separately the first day. Then I mix any leftover sauce with a hearty pasta, like rigatoni, ziti or corkscrews and put it in a casserole dish & top with dollops of ricotta cheese, top with some additional sauce, shredded mozzerella and parmesan or romano cheese for a baked pasta dish. It can be frozen this way and reheated later.

[Licia]

I make, serve and store mine separately.

[Missi]

I serve the sauce and noodles separately, but I grew up with my mom tossing them together. I always liked to control how much sauce I ate.

I have seen people do a combo. They will toss the noodles in maybe half the sauce, then let everyone add more sauce as needed.

[ilovethesouth]

I do a combo now. I toss about half the sauce in with the noodles and leave some to top it with for DH. I like mine mixed together and kind of dry. That's how we had it growing up and I love it! My dad's family is Italian and they claim that's the authentic way. I think it's a lot more flavorful that way too. It seems like the sauce actually sticks to the pasta instead of running off of it when served seperately.

[maryc]

I make a very large batch of meat sauce with ground meat and Italian sausage and serve them separately the first day. Then I mix any leftover sauce with a hearty pasta, like rigatoni, ziti or corkscrews and put it in a casserole dish & top with dollops of ricotta cheese, top with some additional sauce, shredded mozzerella and parmesan or romano cheese for a baked pasta dish. It can be frozen this way and reheated later.

This sounds great! I would always try to have left overs!:D (Can I come to your house?):D

[Belle205]

YUM that does good delish Snap! Mary and I will be right over. ;)

[MindaAnn]

YUM that does good delish Snap! Mary and I will be right over. ;)

Please save some for me, Snapdragon!

[KLD1019]

I tried lastnight to keep the noodles seperate from the sauce. When it came time to fix our plates DH goes "oh i hate when they are seperated!" :rolleyes: WHATS THE BIG DEAL!?!? LoL so i poured the sauce over the noodles and mixed it all up!

[charley]

What an eye opener! I never heard of keeping the 2 separate, lol. Growing up "meatballs and spaghetti" was always served together. Dh is Italian and that's the way it was served in his house too. I do like lovethesouth and go easy on the sauce, but it's gotta be in the same bowl. And leftover pasta doesn't exist in this house. It's always best made fresh! ;)

[mrs.ashton]

We serve it separate and freeze extra sauce if there is enough left over. If there is just a little we will put the sauce of top the noodles in tupperware to eat later and it is never as good. My mama always mixed hers together with the sauce in a big pot. When I left home and had pasta in resturants it was severed separately so I figured that was the "right" way. DH and I prefer it that way as he likes less meat and less sauce than I do.

KLD-You could always separate your serving of the noodles and sauce and mix the rest of it up for DH and DS. Sometimes, DH and I do things like that when we like something different.

[shannonmbp]

I guess I'm just wondering why he can't mix up his own? :confused: It's not like it's labor-intensive or difficult.

[born in the usa]

always separate but I do know people who serve it all mixed together, the reason I do it separate I don't like alot of sauce on it

[KLD1019]

I guess I'm just wondering why he can't mix up his own? :confused: It's not like it's labor-intensive or difficult.

I have no clue!! he's weird but i love him anyway!! LOL :rolleyes:

[tgb]

As for me and my house, we serve it together, cook my sauce with meat included, make a batch of pasta, drain and add to the sauce. Make garlic bread and enjoy.....its a good meal to have "sit" around when all the family can't be together and have to eat as they come and go, though that rarely happened at home, we most always enjoyed our meals together. When making my sauce, I usually add a pkg of onion soup mix, dry, and also at the end, a big ole spoon full of grape jelly mixed in and melted..... might sound weird at first, but after first bite, well, hey I am not Italian, but Mamma Mia~~~

[Belle205]

When making my sauce, I usually add a pkg of onion soup mix, dry, and also at the end, a big ole spoon full of grape jelly mixed in and melted..... might sound weird at first, but after first bite, well, hey I am not Italian, but Mamma Mia~~~

That's different tgb. Sounds good and I will certainly try it. Thanks for sharing that tip!

[MindaAnn]

I've done the dry onion soup mix....but never tried grape jelly! What does it add to the taste, tgb? If it makes you say "mamma mia" it must be good!! I think I'll have to find out! TKS.

[foxxyroxie]

I've never heard of the onion soup mix, but I guess you could add it when you're browning the ground beef -- I add it to meatballs and meatloaf, why not spaghetti sauce. I have heard of the tried the grape jelly thing. I ususally don't have grape jelly in the house but this was a fluke incident. It really didn't do anything special for me. I usually put a couple tablespoons of sugar in my sauce.... sweetens it up.

I serve my spaghetti separate from the meatsauce. I don't like dry spaghetti and neither does BF. Depending on how much spaghetti and sauce I have left over depends on how I store it. If I just have a little of both I store them together and BF takes it to work in his lunch. If I have a lot of spaghetti, BF makes his lunch and I store spaghetti in it's own bowl. The next day I'll add diced onion, cucumber, green pepper, olives (if I have them), pepperoni slices and/or diced ham (if I have it), Italian dressing and grated parmesan cheese... Yumm-O Spaghetti Salad.

The controversy at our house is --- cook the spaghetti whole or break it into pieces. I cook it whole; BF likes it broken into pieces -- LOL

[missymomof3]

As for me and my house, we serve it together, cook my sauce with meat included, make a batch of pasta, drain and add to the sauce. Make garlic bread and enjoy.....its a good meal to have "sit" around when all the family can't be together and have to eat as they come and go, though that rarely happened at home, we most always enjoyed our meals together. When making my sauce, I usually add a pkg of onion soup mix, dry, and also at the end, a big ole spoon full of grape jelly mixed in and melted..... might sound weird at first, but after first bite, well, hey I am not Italian, but Mamma Mia~~~

My grandmother always put grape jelly in hers too. It is supposed to take the bitterness out of the sauce :)