Stick in some sliced peppers, a bit of green, red and yellow adds colour, taste and crunchiness. Plus they are good for you, just make sure you don't use chilli peppers as these may overpower the flavour. A bit of grilled chicken is also always good.

How about asparagus fettucine? Chop up fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, parsley. Fry the onions first, then the rest. Steam the asparagus, then add everything to fettucine. Another one I like is to put butter and olive oil in a fry pan. Chop up plenty of garlic and let it fry just enough to flavor the oil. Take it out and set aside. Slice up green onions, matchstick style, mix with spaghetti or fettucine. Then put the pasta and onions in the frypan and let it and fry till it is crispy on the bottom. Add the garlic on top when you flip the pasta out onto a plate like a pancake.

how about some organic foods garlic, solintro,or just onions actully think of anything! or just some chicken like crispy chicken or grilled. just leyt ur ming go crazy!!

herbs, preferably fresh put on at the last moment cut up "shiffinade" so they look nice for presentation. sometimes I cook some crimini mushrooms and garlic with some carrot for sweetness and toss the noodles in tward the end and stir gently.

I love to add finely chopped cilantro to bottled pasta sauce - about a quarter cup, and just chop the leaves not the stalks. Another thing I do is for a change of pace is saute thinly sliced carrot coins with some garlic and pineapple tidbits in a tablespoon or 2 of red wine, just to soften the carrots. add this to the pasta sauce and voila, warm and serve.

We're very low budget so we take a bunch of leftovers and throw it in the pot with the sauce. One night we did hot dogs and keilbasa with onions, peppers, mushrooms, and turkey burg. It was really good.

a secret that my mother-in-law taught me and i know it may seem gross but add just a tiny bit of grape jelly to your sause and it will take out the acidity and give it a wonderful flavor but only add a tiny bit.

I keep certain things in the freezer- the kids LOVE pasta. Use any or all of these things-- depends on what you have, the calories and fat you want or not, and how fast you need it- I LOVE the shortcuts that speed it up. Start w/ cans of Tom sauce, use 1 or 2 Hunts big cans of "sauce" [you know- flavored w/ cheese, meat, mushrooms, traditional- whatever- it's cheap & use for pizza making too].... 1 jar of CHUNKY garden style --also perfect dip for the cheesy bread sticks I make.... maybe even 1 small can of tom paste-- WHATEVER you have. ADD- 1 or 2 cans diced toms [how much you making?] some [jarred] diced garlic, Italian Seasoning [LOVE it-- and LOVE basil] If you want that dark meaty look, add Kitchen Bouquet- you know- the gravy stuff for meat: lean ground beef and / or/ ground turkey -- very good, low fat, comes frozen in 1 lb roll ground sausage and / or FOR GOOD QUICK HELP-- Brown and Serve Maple Flavored Sausage links-- these are great because you get a bit of sweetness, can be sliced frozen and thin, and no one knows what makes the sauce so good. Beats plain burger. Brown the meat and add a ton of diced onions into it before adding to the sauce. drain fat. Add a little parmesan into the sauce just before serving. I use a variety of the above ingredients-- NOT all the meats at once, and always start w/ plain tom sauce. Maybe diced green peps into it too

O.k my moms trick was adding raisins .. might seem allittle gross, but with browned ground beef it really works!! It gives it a sweet flawor.

smoked bacon or ham and a bit of chilli

Add sugar to cut the acid or put in a whole carrot to soak up the acidity.

I always start with onion/garlic/herbs & fry until brown, then brown meat and add tomatos and tomato paste. Prior to serving to add a kick for my partner I add BBQ sauce to the mix until it just changes colour & boil it again, then serve. My partner reckon it tastes better than the normal bolognaise, but i like my sauce as is (without the BBQ).

How about spinach with mushrooms and onions.

ok this might sound odd but blend up some cooked carrots and some chopped corriander and add them to the basic tomato sauce and it will melt in ur mouth...... if u like spicy however instead of tomato use salsa it works wonders xxxx

Vodka Sauce! So good. Recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106042

It's going to sound odd and it's not tomato-based, but it's also not creamy. It's a perfect side dish and nicely compliments chicken parm or another Italian entree. Lemon Spaghetti, compliments of Food Network's Giada De Laurentis: 1 pound spaghetti 2/3 cup olive oil 2/3 cup grated Parmesan 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons) Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.

There is a sauce sold in stores called mojitos dinosaur sauce that I use in bowtie noodles and on a paired meat. It goes great with thin steaks or chops that you can serve with the pasta or cut up and just mix in. Also, you can use macaroni noodles in a chili type of dish with beans and ground meat. Adding veggies or meat to your marinara based sauce could work too- theme it however you want, seafood, poultry, italian veggies, hearty colorful veggies, big chunkd, little chunks, whatever you're in the mood for.

Roasted vegetables (onions, red bell peppers, sliced carrots, tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder) cooked at 375F for twenty minutes, turn, then for twenty minutes more. You can add any leftover meat or fish as you stir this into a marinara sauce with a can of whole peeled tomatoes. Also great served over short grain brown rice.

Try stirring into your cooked pasta some: BBQ Sauce Tomato Ketchup BBQ Seasoning A little bit of milk This is really easy and tastes great! Especially with chicken and red pepper!

lets start fresh! that is the way to go! start by stewing tomatoes in virgin olive oil with salt, oregano, pepper, and a TOUCH of milk, to cut the acid. mash it all up! add pesto by dicing up a large bunch of FRESH basil, mixing with a touch of virgin olive oil, cloves of garlic, and a 1/2 cup of FRESH parmesan. meanwhile, be grilling mushrooms with red pepper. mix it all together and presto! bring pasta of choice to boil. make sure the water is just above the amount of pasta you have. flavor the water with oil and salt. pour in strainer, mix with 1 tbs of butter. you can mix all together, or pour the sauce over-top. serve with garlic bread, and a nice side salad. recommended wine:Abbazia Santa Anastasia. if you want to make meatballs, pack ground beef with chopped onions, (more oil!) salt, pepper, oregano and fry in pan. top over sauce. hope this helps! =]