I’ve been running more lately. Training for a 10k to be exact.

And I can’t tell you the last time I made pasta. Or craved pasta.

But tonight, as I wandered the aisles of the grocery store, all I could think about was spaghetti. The saucy goodness of noodles topped with Parmesan cheese.

I had the idea to make the sauce of scratch, and it was one of my finer moments.

So I give you Spaghetti with blush mushroom ragu.

What you need:

• One 28 oz. can of diced fire roasted tomatoes
• Fresh mushrooms, half the container
• 1 large garlic clove
• Fresh oregano
• Dried basil and parsley
• Half and half
• Butter
• Spaghetti noodles
• Parmesan cheese

In a sauce pan, heat up the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Add in the oregano, parsley and basil to taste. Simmer while you cook your mushrooms and garlic in a saute pan with a little olive oil.

Puree your sauce with an immersion blender. Then add the mushrooms and garlic. Let it simmer while you cook the noodles.

Right before you’re ready to plate it up, add a dab of butter and a splash of half and half or heavy cream. This will give it a nice blush color. And it will cut through some of the acidity in the tomatoes. Trust me…you want to do this.

I combined the noodles with the sauce because I like it mixed together. And then I topped it with lots of cheese.

Hands down, one of the best post-run meals. And it was super easy. Only downfall is having more than one dish to wash. But I think I’ll live.