Oh to be burdened with naming a dish so simple from its very execution! The time I would have spent thinking up a name would have been more than writing the recap of this simple dish.

Many are aware of the value that store-bought, bottled tomato-based pasta sauce may have towards reaching your desired pasta experience sooner. I have, however, never really gotten into the habit of simply heating the goop and serving it over a bowl of noodles as a side to something. Always, there is the need to make something more of these sauces.

Take, for example, what I did today: Having heated a wide but shallow saucepan, I placed five slices of bacon which I have cut into inch-long segments. There I browned them until most of their fat has been rendered, with a nice fond sticking on the bottom of the pan, waiting to impart the best of flavors to the sauce. A pound of crimini mushrooms—”baby bellas,” as some packages call them—sliced rather thick goes into the pan next. They have enough water to sweat out and deglaze the pan, especially with the help of a few pinches of salt. Once the mushrooms have cooked down, your jar of store-bought tomato sauce comes in next. Once mixed completely and all that, allow the whole mess—and I don’t lie, it looks like a mess—to simmer, uncovered, for at least fifteen minutes. Through this step the sauce will thicken and the flavors will all meld.

Serve the sauce with some wider noodles, like fettucine or linguini, as this sauce can be hearty. Enjoy while watching Doctor Who, preferably David Tennant, although Tom Baker will do, if you’re in a histrionic kind of mood.