Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti is a big hit in my household. We always have spaghetti w/meatballs and Italian sausage at least once a month.

I make a basic spaghetti sauce that I use all the time. At the beginning of the month I make a huge batch so that I have it for whatever I need it for. The sauce is great freshly made, however after it freezes it is even better. I use this sauce for my lasagna, manicotti, stuffed shells, spaghetti, and anything that requires spaghetti sauce.

We will start with my sauce:



Spaghetti Sauce:

3 Lg cans Crushed Tomatoes
3 Lg cans Tomato Sauce
1 Lg can Tomato Paste
3 Lg cans Water + 1 cup water
1/4 cup Onion Powder
1/4 cup Garlic Powder
1/4 cup Pepper
1/2 cup dried Parsley
1/4 cup dried Oregano
1/4 cup dried Basil
1/8 cup dried Thyme
4 dried Bay Leaves
1/2 cup Sugar (this cuts the acidity of the tomatoes)

I like to sort of layer my ingredients. First I put the tomato paste in a large stock pot, I whisk in 1 cup of water to get the paste to a consistency that is easily mixable. Then I add one can of crushed tomatoes, then a can of tomato sauce, then I fill one of the empty cans with water and swish it back and forth between the 2 cans over the pot until all residual crushed tomatoes and sauce is off the sides, I then pour the water in and mix that all together. I repeat the process for the remaining cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. After I have all of my tomato products and water mixed together well, I begin adding seasonings. I add each seasoning one at a time and mix well between each one. So you will do this through the remaining ingredients. Once all the seasonings are in cover and put the heat to medium. Stir occasionally. Once sauce reaches the boiling point, lower heat to simmer. I cook my sauce all day.

About 2-3 hours before supper I make and add the meatballs and sausage.

I take a pound and half of hamburger and shape them into golf ball size balls and fry them on medium until they are brown all the way around, then I add them to the sauce (they continue to cook in the sauce and adds extra flavor to the sauce). Next I take a package of Italian sausage (you can use mild, hot, or sweet Italian), I cut them in half and again fry them on medium, in same pan that I did the meatballs, until they are browned all the way around, add them to the sauce and continue cooking till dinner time.

When you are just about ready for dinner fix your noodles the way you like and serve sauce with meatballs & sausage over the top. It is very yummy and always a hit.