I admit it, I was a jar sauce guy for many years. My mom makes fantastic spaghetti sauce, but it takes all day. Growing up, spaghetti was a food that took all day to cook. So as a working man, I bought jars of sauce for my spaghetti most of the time. It was serviceable enough, brown hamburger, drain, add sauce, heat, cook pasta, drain and presto! Spaghetti. But a year or so ago, I started working on making my own โfastโ sauce. Between opening a jar of unknown ingredients and the family all-day recipe. Now I almost never buy jar sauce! Itโs to easy to make it myself. So hereโs my basic spaghetti sauce (I also use it for lasagna). Feel free to alter it in any way! And donโt think Iโm looking down on you! Iโm a dad. I know what itโs like to get off work, pick the kids up from soccer and you have to get food in everybodyโs belly and homework and baths done! Nobody faults you for grabbing a jar of sauce, a box of spaghetti and a pack of hamburger on the way home! But if you are still opening that jar of Prego because you think itโs your only option, give this a try, you might be surprised!
Spaghetti sauce
2 lbs ground beef (turkey, Italian sausage, etc.)
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes (for a thinner sauce, use tomato sauce, for chunky sauce, use diced or stewed tomatoes)
1 10 oz can tomato paste + 2 cans of water
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion diced
1 bell pepper diced
1-2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1-2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste.
Brown your hamburger with your peppers and onions. Drain. Add olive oil and garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and 2 cans of water and the tomatoes. Finish with the seasonings, sugar and sauces. At this point, you can eat it as soon as itโs heated through, but it tastes better if it simmers an hour or more.
There you go. Nothing too complicated, but itโs delicious and you know everything that goes into it. And you can alter it to match your tastes!