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Spaghetti Sauce

List of Ingredients




This is my old stand-by. I start cooking it after breakfast and let it simmer all day.

Brown until vegetables are soft:
2 lbs. hamburger
3 lg. onions, chopped fine
2 bell peppers, chopped fine
2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Stir in 1 lg. can tomato paste (allowing paste to cook a bit removes the harsh acid taste) and stirring constantly, allow to brown slightly.

Add:
1 lg. can tomato puree (opt.)
2 lg. cans tomato sauce
1 qt. canned tomatoes (drain and reserve juice and chop tomatoes fairly fine)
1 can diced tomatoes and chiles (opt.)

Add: [Amounts are approximate. I never measure.]
2 T. fresh basil
1 t. oregano
2 bay leaves
1/2-1 t. thyme
1/2-3/4 c. parsley
1 t. dry mustard
2 T. Worcestershire
2-3 T. brown sugar
1-2 pods hot red peppers
1/2 c. Parmesan
1 sm. carton cottage cheese
S & P

Simmer an hour or so. Then add 1 can mushroom pieces.


Recipe



Simmer uncovered 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally. Add water if sauce becomes too thick.

To serve, cook pasta as directed. Add 1-2 T. butter or olive oil, if desired, to hot pasta. Spoon on sauce.

Top with bread crumbs toasted in garlic butter (opt.), Parmesan, and crushed red pepper.

Serve with garlic bread and tossed salad.

Variations:

Omit hamburger for pure sauce. Cool sautéed vegetables and run through food processor for a smoother sauce.

Use half hamburger and half ground pork.

Substitute cooked chicken (See Soup section for boiling chicken; reserve broth for other uses).

Commercial Sauce

In the past few years, I 've used many commercial spaghetti sauces. The manufacturers have radically improved them from what we had in the early days. I always add my own touch:

Sauté hamburger, onions, peppers, and garlic as above. Add 2 jars commercial sauce. Season with assorted herbs and spices. Simmer about two hours.

Shortly after Leslie and Byron married, they came home for a visit. I had this sauce made up. Byron loved it. He made the comment that Leslie never made homemade sauce. Leslie, knowing that I'd used jarred sauce, simple cackled with glee.