Sunday, February 24, 2013

Spaghetti!

Every time I make spaghetti sauce, I change it a little bit. The difference is usually based on what ingredients I have on hand at the time. I have come a long way from the spaghetti sauce I used to make, which was combining a jar of store bought spaghetti sauce with ground beef and calling it a day. Now that I've adapted to making my own sauce, I won't go back to the other again because this sauce is so much better. One day I will make sauce by using fresh tomatoes, but I haven't done that yet.

This is absolutely a base recipe. Feel free to add or subtract ingredients in any way that you like. I know there are a million different ways to make spaghetti sauce and everybody has their likes and dislikes about what they like (my husband and I hate mushrooms, for example). Around here, we like a chunky sauce, and this is what this recipe turns out to be.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage
1/2 large onion (or whole, small onion) chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano 
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper
1 cup water

Brown the beef and sausage in a large pot, then drain off the fat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, seasonings, and water. Simmer for 30 minutes. Let cool. Serve with spaghetti or your favorite pasta.

I also usually add some crushed red pepper flakes because we like a little spiciness in our food around here. The sugar added into the sauce is not to make it sweet but to counteract the acidity of the tomatoes. You won't notice it. One final ingredient that I often add is a tablespoon of butter (not margarine). It seems to blend everything together and makes the sauce go from ordinary to decadent. Then again, maybe it's just the southern girl in me coming out that thinks everything tastes better with a little butter. :)

2 comments:

  1. I definitely like my spaghetti sauce with meat in it. *big smile*

    Hugs. *HG*

    Take care and bye, :)!
    Olga/Maddie

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    Replies
    1. me too!! Meatless spaghetti sauce is a joke! (and not a funny one)

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