Many of you may not know, but I married an Italian.
From New Jersey.
Now I'm not one to push stereotypes, but I will say this.
He does not mess around when it comes to sauce.
As someone that grew up eating Ragu, this has baffled me for years - particularly because I have zero skills in making homemade tomato sauce, so why would someone rather eat homemade-that's-terrible, when they can have ok-when-jazzed-up jar sauce?
Any person who has ever been in a committed relationship can see where this is going - years of passive-aggressively picking out/ making sauces the other person didn't like as we pretend to compromise.
I'm ready to admit the problem though - it was me.
I can say this with absolute certainty because I was in charge of the last shopping trip. Having loved Little Venice for years, I thought - what's better than supporting local? And off-handedly picked up the sauce.
It took me 20 minutes to throw together some spaghetti that night - and let me tell you - it was out of this world. When I taste-tested to see how I was going to have to adjust the sauce, I couldn't believe it. I didn't have to doctor it up or line up cans of tomatoes for my husband to make his own sauce.
I just tossed it in with some noodles and ground sausage, and it was seriously the best meal I've had since the shut-down!
In case you don't believe my ringing endorsement, let me blow. your. mind.
My oldest has never liked sauce on his noodles. He's one of those "ew, mom, I don't like STUFF on my STUFF!" types. It's absolutely maddening. But after making my plate, I gave him a taste and he begged - for the first time since he could decide what went on his plate - for a plate full of saucy pasta. And he ate 2 helpings! In case you're not believing me on how picky he is, his favorite food is plain white rice. Followed by plain bread. Bananas have become to flavorful for him.
And for the final chime of approval from my family - my husband has picked up 1 - 2 jars every single shopping trip since.
Little Venice, you have solved a 9 year, passive-aggressive war that would have only died with us. Now we can spend all that extra time enjoying delicious pasta and spending time together instead of glaring and washing dishes too loudly!
| For those of you that haven't tried it, we both highly recommend Little Venice Pasta Sauce. They have several flavors, but this one is our favorite. You can find it right at our local Price Chopper, Weis, and Wegmans locations. You can find other locations that sell Little Venice sauces by clicking here. |  |
Do you have a favorite local brand that saves your weeknight meals? Let us know at katherinem@macaronikid.com.
***This article is in no way sponsored by Little Venice. I have received no compensation - I just love the sauce! ***
