Hesterberg Spaghetti

If you are looking for a fast and easy dinner dish, this is a great one!  Often, when I am looking for a recipe, I skip long introductions to get to the main part:  the ingredients and preparation.  Thus, I am going to post that first, and the history behind this meal (which is really fun!) last.

You will need:

1-1 ½ lbs ground beef (I use lean*)
*½ or 1 whole onion (I use half)
2 large cans Hunt's tomato sauce (generic works fine)
*1 package of mushrooms
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp garlic
1 package spaghetti noodles
*Basil (preferably fresh)
Serves about 4-6 with some leftover

*denotes ingredients we have added to the original Hesterberg spaghetti recipe

The original Hesterberg spaghetti recipe, written and passed down to me by my mother-in-law, Kathy (Reyna) Hesterberg.

Prepare noodles according to package directions.  When done, pour some olive oil over them (so they don't stick to the pot), and mix them up with chopped up fresh basil.

The noodles tossed with olive oil and basil

Chop up onion and mushrooms, and brown them with the ground beef and garlic.  Finely break them all up over low-medium heat.  If you are not using lean ground beef, drain the fat.  Otherwise, proceed to add the oregano and tomato sauce and heat through.  Serve over spaghetti noodles.  Enjoy!

We enjoy picking fresh basil and oregano from our garden!

The marinara meat sauce really makes the dish!  My husband could literally eat this everyday and not grow tired of it.

Though I never had the privilege of meeting her, my father-in-law's mother, Cecilia (Jones) Hesterberg,  was the first to make this spaghetti.  She passed it on to my mother-in-law, Kathy (Reyna) Hesterberg, who then passed it on to me, Giana (Gallardo) Hesterberg.  It is a favorite that we have made for family and friends here in South Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Seattle, Washington; and most recently, Littleton, Colorado.  

We have added to the recipe as the years have gone by.  In 2011, when we last visited Iowa, we made it for a dear friend, Amanda, who is vegetarian.  Since we couldn't use meat, we tried mushrooms.  We liked it so much we decided to keep them in our version!  A couple of years later, we were having supper at another sweet lady's house, Lily, and saw that she added basil to her spaghetti noodles.  And finally, our gardening mentor, Angela, inspired us to grow our own herbs.  

We hope that you enjoy Hesterberg spaghetti and would love to hear about how you make it your own!

Grandma Ceil, the originator of the recipe.