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.  

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

When we're both home on the weekends, the Hubs and I love to cook breakfast together. It's my favorite Saturday morning routine. We sleep in a bit, wake up lazy, wander downstairs in our pjs, and see what we feel like cooking. One of our favorite dishes is biscuits topped with yummy sausage gravy.

I made this for The Kid whilst she was here… can you believe she'd never had it before??? Total insanity. This is a ridiculously simple dish to prepare. You can even make it the night before, and then just warm the gravy up in the morning. I've frozen this too. You simply thaw and heat, and you're ready to go again. This is perfect when I have company visiting, because I don't have to spend as much time in the kitchen when I already have frozen meals prepared.

The ingredients

The ingredients are simple (and of course, I forgot one in the picture! Mentally add 2 tablespoons of butter to that picture). You need 1lb. of ground sausage to get started. I've always used the Jimmy Dean sage flavored one, but lately I like using the organic sausages and just adding a tiny bit of sage to the pan.

Brown your sausage in a deep skillet, because this makes a whole bunch of gravy. Once brown, add two tablespoons of butter to the pan and melt. Then, stir in ⅔ cup of flour. At first, the flour won't absorb. Keep stirring it around until you can't see the whiteness of the flour anymore. Then, let it cook for 3 or 4 minutes. This additional cooking time helps reduce the flour-y flavor later on. We don't want that taste in our gravy.

Cooking the sausage, step by step

Once the flour is totally incorporated, and you've cooked it down a bit, it's time to add the milk. Slowly drizzle in 5 cups of whole milk (organic if you want, it's the best). You can you use a lower fat milk, but it's not as good. Seriously. Plus, it doesn't thicken as well.

Th gravy takes a while to thicken, so just keep stirring it over medium-low heat. Ten to fifteen minutes later, you'll have deliciously thick gravy.

Once thick, stir in a generous amount of fresh cracked black pepper (about 1 tablespoon). Pour over warm biscuits, then get on your knees and thank the cooking gods that someone invented sausage gravy!

Also, don't be like the Hubs and add too much pepper. Add a little, taste, then add more if you need it. You can always put more in it, but you can't take it out once it's in there. The Hubs learned this lesson the hard way.

Do you make sausage gravy at home? If you've got any tips, feel free to add them in the comments. Until next time, happy cooking!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife
or on Instagram @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

The Standard Form:

Country Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:

1 pound sage sausage (or your favorite sausage)

⅔ cup flour

5 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Directions:

Crumble and cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until browned. Add the butter and stir to melt. Stir in the flour until dissolved, then cook an additional 3-4 minutes.

Slowly drizzle in the milk. Cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat until the gravy is thick and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Generously season with the pepper, to taste. Serve over biscuits. Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.