Spanish Spaghetti with Olives

Everyone at my house loves this dish! I have served it with chicken and with beef. Both are delicious.

This recipe makes plenty for four, and unless some of them are teen-aged boys, you should have leftovers. At my house this is a good thing.

1 pound extra-lean ground beef (or diced rotisserie chicken)

2 large onions, chopped

4 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed saffron threads (optional)

1 24-ounce jar lower-sodium marinara sauce

4 ounces pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced or roughly chopped (about 1 cup)

1/3 cup dry sherry

2 tablespoon capers

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided (dried parsley can be used)

1 pound thin spaghetti

Crumble beef (or chicken!) into a warm skillet on medium heat; cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Drain the fat from the beef. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in oregano, celery salt, red pepper, black pepper, and saffron, if desired. Stir in marinara sauce, olives, sherry, capers, and 3 tablespoons parsley (add all 4 tablespoons if using dried parsley). Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Add spaghetti to sauce mixture. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. If using fresh parsley, sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon.