Judie’s Spaghetti Sauce
Yield: 6 – 8 servings
As my granddaughter, Taylor, says, “A recipe is just a guideline.” Especially true of my sauce recipe. The amounts don’t need to be exact. You might not have Italian sausage – Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage is fine. You might need to stretch the amount and add extra tomatoes. You can add more red wine, or leave it out. I bet you end up making this your own version!
It’s an all-purpose sauce. Use it as-is on spaghetti, as sauce for Chicken Cacciatore, on meatball sandwiches, or wherever you need Italian sauce. In my kitchen, leftover sauce often finds its way as a base for vegetable soup (non-vegetarian).
Freezer in freezer bags up to 2 months.
1 pound Italian sausage (hot or mild or a mix)
1 pound ground chuck
1 onion, diced
2 – 5 cloves garlic, finely minced (amount depends on your taste and size of cloves)
1, 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1, 12-ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried Italian mixed herbs (or several tablespoons chopped fresh herbs*)
1 tablespoon A-1 Sauce
1, 10 ½ -ounce can beef broth
½ cup red wine
Salt and pepper to taste
- Cook sausage and ground chuck in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, chopping with a spoon or spatula as it cooks. When meat is almost done, drain off fat and liquid. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender.
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, A-1 Sauce, beef broth, and red wine. Simmer on low heat for 30 to 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
*Such as rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil, savory, marjoram.
Extra: Depending on what I’m using this sauce for, who will be eating it, and what I have on hand, I like to add capers (about 1 tablespoon), Kalamata olives, and/or extra slivered garlic.