By The first week of being married. Mrs. Washington. Again. The name is the same and the marriage is a different country. I wake up next to Derek in the bed that used to be just mine and the morning is warmer because another person breathes beside me and the breathing is steady and calm because that's who he is and that's who I married and the mornings are different now. Coffee appears on the nightstand before I'm fully awake. He's been doing this for months. But now it's a husband bringing coffee to his wife and the upgrade from boyfriend to husband makes the coffee taste different. Better. Married coffee. The best kind.
The townhouse is officially ridiculous. Six people. Three bedrooms. One and a half bathrooms. A shower schedule that has become constitutional law. But the house closing has a new date: September 1st. The banks are moving again. The world is slowly, cautiously, uncertainly reopening. The Cascade Heights house is waiting. The gas stove is waiting. The window over the sink is waiting. Two more months.
Made a simple dinner the first night as a married couple: spaghetti. The simplest meal. The one I've been making since Marcus was eleven and tired of cereal. Spaghetti for six, at a table that seats six, in a house that holds six, on the first Monday of a marriage that is both new and old, both beginning and continuing. Derek twirled his fork and said, "Best spaghetti I've ever had." I said, "It's the same spaghetti." He said, "Nothing is the same." He's right. The spaghetti is the same. Everything else is transformed. The same ingredients. A new recipe. The alchemy of love.
Derek was right — nothing is the same — but the recipe I reached for that first Monday night as his wife was the one I’ve made a hundred times: spaghetti, stretched to feed a full house, the way I learned to cook it when feeding growing kids meant making every ingredient count. Spaghetti with hot dogs is humble and a little unexpected, the kind of meal that makes people at the table lean in and say, wait, this is good — which is exactly what a first dinner as a married couple should do. If you’re feeding a crowd in a small space on a big night, this is the one.
Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti
- 1 package (12 oz) beef hot dogs, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
- 1 jar (24 oz) marinara or tomato pasta sauce
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Boil the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- Brown the hot dogs. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sliced hot dogs and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on the edges, about 4–5 minutes.
- Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add diced onion to the skillet and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
- Simmer. Stir in the marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes if using. Season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to let the flavors come together.
- Combine. Add the drained spaghetti directly to the skillet and toss to coat, adding a splash of reserved pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Serve. Plate into bowls and top with grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 18g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 65g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 920mg