In some ways, my kids are spoiled. One of the biggest ways is with the fact that for most of their lives, they have had homemade spaghetti sauce 90% of the time. For years they refused to eat store-bought sauce, and even now they grumble at it. Phil grew up eating homemade sauce, too, and got his mom's recipe, which has morphed by now, but generally turns out pretty good.
Ingredients:
28 oz canned tomato sauce
28 oz canned stewed tomatoes
18-24 oz canned tomato paste
2 lbs meat (ground beef/turkey/pork/italian sausage)
Italian Seasonings (oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, bay leaves, tarragon, etc.)
garlic (fresh or dried)
1/4 cup molasses
Mix all the ingredients together in a crockpot and cook on low setting for 12-24 hours. Separate into containers and freeze until ready to use.
Ok, now to get farther into the ingredients, now that you have the basic recipe. All of this is done to taste, and the measurements are approximate. I like using the tomato products that have roasted garlic, or other seasonings in them. (It cuts down on the other spices that I need to add.) Also, I found that if I use Italian sausage, I don't need a whole lot more seasoning in the sauce.
Now, this basic sauce can be used as-is, or you can doctor it while you cook your pasta. I like to add a little red wine when I'm reheating it, and mushrooms/onions/peppers, or maybe sometimes a bit of spinach.
I usually get about 4 weeks worth, using about 2 cups of sauce each week in our spaghetti.
Ingredients:
28 oz canned tomato sauce
28 oz canned stewed tomatoes
18-24 oz canned tomato paste
2 lbs meat (ground beef/turkey/pork/italian sausage)
Italian Seasonings (oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, bay leaves, tarragon, etc.)
garlic (fresh or dried)
1/4 cup molasses
Mix all the ingredients together in a crockpot and cook on low setting for 12-24 hours. Separate into containers and freeze until ready to use.
Ok, now to get farther into the ingredients, now that you have the basic recipe. All of this is done to taste, and the measurements are approximate. I like using the tomato products that have roasted garlic, or other seasonings in them. (It cuts down on the other spices that I need to add.) Also, I found that if I use Italian sausage, I don't need a whole lot more seasoning in the sauce.
Now, this basic sauce can be used as-is, or you can doctor it while you cook your pasta. I like to add a little red wine when I'm reheating it, and mushrooms/onions/peppers, or maybe sometimes a bit of spinach.
I usually get about 4 weeks worth, using about 2 cups of sauce each week in our spaghetti.
Joel and I also both grew up with homemade sauce, and we make our own. Our favorite variation has chilli flakes, black olives, and capers.
ReplyDeleteI don't like American store bought sauce because of the added sugar (ugh!). I have once or twice bought sauce from the store in Europe, e.g., when I was living in Vienna for 6 weeks and even though I had a decent kitchen, I didn't really have the facilities for storing more than a serving or two worth of leftovers, so I'd just get something that would last for two meals.