Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday: Oh No He Didn't!

A few months after I got married I fixed spaghetti for supper one night. I made it the way my mother always had: Hamburger Helper Spaghetti plus 1/2 jar of salsa. I always thought it was good, so of course My Man would as well. We eat our spaghetti dinner and My Man looks at me and says, "I really don't like Hamburger Helper. Why don't you ask my mom for her spaghetti recipe? She always made good spaghetti."

He.did.not.just.say.that.

Obviously my husband did not get the Marriage 101 manual where it says that you NEVER compare/contrast your wife to your mother.

However, I took it in stride. In fact he never knew that his comment had hurt me so much until I was talking about it years later. So I decided to find a spaghetti recipe that My Man and I could both agree upon.

The next time I made spaghetti we both took a bite, looked at each other, and then said, "This is the best spaghetti I've ever tasted!" So the very first recipe I tried was our keeper.

I've been making this spaghetti sauce for almost 10 years now and I've become kind of famous for it in my family. It is a tradition that when my family comes to visit, especially one of my cousins, I am obligated to make my homemade spaghetti for them.

So tonight I'm sharing it with you.

Here is what you need to make Italian Spaghetti Sauce:


1 pound ground beef
1 pound hot Italian sausage (or mild)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 package sliced mushrooms
3 tsp. or 6 cloves minced garlic 
1 large can diced tomatoes (28 oz.)
1 large can tomato sauce (29 oz.)
1 can tomato paste (12 oz.)
2 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to taste or leave out)

First, brown ground beef, sausage, onions, mushrooms, and garlic in a large Dutch oven.



Let the meat cook down until all of the juice has disappeared. It will take about 20-30 minutes, but the taste is much more flavorful.



Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot.



Cover and let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour.



Serve over spaghetti noodles or use sauce for lasagna.




So unbelievably good! I feel the need to give you a warning, though. This sauce will spoil you for any other red sauce that you might eat, even at Italian restaurants.

Also this sauce is easy to adapt to your family's taste:

vegetarian...leave out the meat.

don't want it so meaty...use only 1 pound of meat.

need to be gone all day...do the first step, then combine everything in your crock pot and cook on low all day.

This recipe will make a large amount of spaghetti sauce, so I freeze the leftover sauce in gallon size storage bags. Pull out and thaw on the stovetop for a quick meal.

Update on the original spaghetti debacle, when I finally asked my mother-in-law about her spaghetti recipe a few years back, she told me that she would brown ground beef and add it to a jar of store brand spaghetti sauce. I have been known to do this as well, so no judgment from me!

When I told My Man about the spaghetti incident he didn't even remember saying it but he still apologized for the insensitive comment ten years later. :)

What a sweet man I married in the treehouse,

Chelli

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