Not Yo' Mama's Spaghetti Sauce

Ok, so your mom could totally make a spaghetti sauce like this. But mine doesn't, so hence the title! One day I'll post my recipe for a basic tomato sauce (from actual tomatoes), but I know that most of you will find this recipe more in your comfort zone.

Top three reasons why I love this recipe?

1. The Hubs likes lots of meat in his spaghetti sauce.
2. The house smells ah-maze-ing while this is simmering!
3. This sauce freezes easy for later use.

I make this and freeze in advance whenever we have family visiting. This way, I look awesome for making my own spaghetti sauce, but I don't have to waste precious visit time with cooking. Win win!

Freezing the sauce

Here's what you need to get started:

You also need 1 pound each of ground beef and ground, mild Italian sausage (somehow, they didn't make it into the picture).

I'm going to tell you all my secrets for making awesome spaghetti sauce… simmer, simmer, simmer and always allow your sauce to rest overnight before using. Seriously, my friends, trust me! These two things alone can make or break your sauce. Really wonderful sauce allows plenty of time for those delicious flavors to meld.

Let's get busy!

Add your ground beef and sausage to a large pot, along with ½ of a diced onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Brown the meat, and then drain the fat from this mix.

Next, we add in all our tomato products - 28 ounces of crushed tomatoes, 16 ounces of tomato sauce, and 12 ounces of tomato paste. Also add in a ½ cup of warm water (this keeps the sauce moist during all the simmering). Combine well with the meat, and let the mixture warm up a bit because we're going to add in all the yummy spices next.

For the seasoning mix, I use: 1 teaspoon of fennel seed, 1 tablespoon of fresh basil (chopped), 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley (chopped), 1 teaspoon of oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, and… 2-3 tablespoons of white sugar.

Yep, you heard me right! SUGAR. This is of major importance, peeps. The sugar helps reduce the sharp acidic flavor of the tomatoes. You can add as much or as little as you like, but taste as you go. The sauce will become sweeter as it simmers, so don't add too much. Then, you just wait for the magic to happen! Let your sauce bubble and blend over low heat for at least 90 minutes. Stir it occasionally. Once in a while, sneak a taste. Relish in the joy that is spaghetti sauce.

At the end of 90 minutes, turn off the burner and allow your sauce to come to room temperature before you refrigerate it. This prevents too much condensation on your finished product. Cover and refrigerate overnight before using.

I particularly like to use this sauce in my lasagna recipe, which will hopefully be coming to the blog soon! But it's just as awesome on plain old spaghetti noodles with some garlic bread on the side.

Nom!

I'll be back soon, my friends. I've missed you during this family visit, and I can't wait to be back to blogging. As always, the standard recipe is below.

Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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The Standard Form:

Not Yo’ Mama’s Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage

1 lb. ground beef

½ - 1 cup chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce

2 cans (6 oz. each) tomato paste

½ cup water

2 - 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oregano

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Begin by browning the sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic together in a large skillet or pot over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the fat.

To the cooked meat, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and the water. Stir well to combine. Stir all of the seasonings into the mixture. Simmer at least 90 minutes over low heat.

Remove sauce from heat and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight before using. Perfect for lasagna recipes or a spaghetti dinner.  

Spaghetti Sauce is Out to Get Me

The past few weeks have been a bit crazy. First we have to go here, and then there, and then back again. Next, it's this paperwork that needs to be filed, and the dog needs a vet visit, and a zillion other things... all of which added up to the unthinkable: Last week, we ate spaghetti with sauce from a JAR.

Not a major crisis, I know. But for a foodie like me, who insists on home-cooking, this was a warning flag of major proportions. A warning of what, you're thinking.... doesn't everyone make do with quickie meals when necessary?

Yep. Everybody does. Even us. Why the warning flag, then? Well, even when we're busy with life, the Hubs and I like to spend a a bit of time each evening with our quiet rituals. We make dinner.... ok, so that's a lie. I make dinner. But the Hubs sits at the counter and talks to me while I chop and dice and saute. Sometimes he even helps. The Hubs is a great chopper.

I like listening to his voice while I cook. I like telling him all the little things about my day. And I especially love the way these simple things keep us sane for another day.

Spaghetti sauce from a jar = no quiet conversation. No sharing of our days. Nothing to keep me sane for another 24 hours.

Not cool.

So, when I found myself cracking open another jar of spaghetti sauce, I knew something was wrong. Why was I so frazzled? Why did it feel like I was living with a stranger that I only saw in passing?

 It was the darn spaghetti sauce, totally to blame for my panicked state. Something needed to change.

Yes, I realize how ridiculous this might sound, but that doesn't make it any less true. Spaghetti sauce was out to get me. We were falling in with bad habits.

Obviously the sauce isn't really a problem, just my warning flag. We all have little rituals that help us relax, or things that bring us closer together as a couple. The Hubs and I have a lot of rituals that keep us running smooth. We hike together, walk the dog, leave each other notes in the morning, and.... we cook dinner together whenever he is home. Our rituals are different when he's away, deployed or otherwise. This is the reason that sauce from a jar was so upsetting to me. That particular ritual is something I usually do only when the Hubs is away, because I don't always like to cook for one.

The realization shook me a bit. Of course, I immediately went to the grocery store. I purchased enough ingredients to make a killer red sauce (someday I'll share it with you!). That night, the Hubs and I chopped onions and tomatoes. We talked about our day. He told me a funny story, and I told him about the dog across the street that won't stop barking. The jar of sauce went back into the pantry where it belongs.

Today, we're still a little frazzled and life is just a bit crazy. But we won't be eating sauce from a jar this week. The little rituals are easy to take for granted, and even easier to set aside when life gets in the way. So while the madness continues, I'm making a conscious effort to keep our rituals in place. I miss those moments when they're gone. While he's here, and while we have this time (crazy as it can be!), I want to stockpile the little moments. I'm going to treasure them, so I can pull them out again when he isn't here to make sauce with me. For the army wife community, those alone times come too often. For sure, I don't want to miss any of our together moments, no matter how tempting that jar of sauce might be.

What are your little rituals? Do you make a meal together, or snuggle on the couch with a movie? Perhaps you take an evening walk, or maybe go to the gym together? Whatever those little things are, hang onto them. Don't open too many jars of spaghetti sauce.