Louise's homemade speghetti

By Lsweetnell

Ingredients

• ground beef

Preparation

Step 1

brown 3-4 pounds beef (if I am gonna make it, I want more than one nite's worth and freeze the rest for another day), 1 large onion, finely chopped and a sprinkle of salt. I do not add the other spices directly to the meat, makes the meat too strong and you will poor most of the spice off when you drain it anyhow. And yes, if you love your family, drain the meat. I use a colander. Just to change it up I add a little diced, finely, green pepper (cooked with the beef to soften) and even some celery ( gotta dice the celery finely) and even some mushrooms make it more garden style. Again cooked with the meat to soften. I like the ground beef fairly chunky. Add to large pot. Add one large can of hunts tomato sauce, 2 large cans of hunts crushed tomatoes, and 1 can of hunts tomato paste. 1 tsp of garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Half a tsp of thyme. 2 bay leaves. 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar. (You can always add more spices later, but let it cook at least a half hour before tasting and adjusting. May also add a little water, maybe one cup. I bring up to a full simmer then cover and simmer on low for about an hour. Taste to see if you need a little more flavor and adjust. DO NOT cook your sauce for hours, it just taste like old strong sauce, long over-cooked (my opinion) like that restaurant that just won't make another fresh pot until the old one is used up. I apologize if anyone feels offended, that is just my opinion. Two hours is plenty of time for a great spaghetti sauce. Remember Oregano can really overpower it so go easy when adding any additional. Bay leaves are essential to me. I use the same sauce, maybe a little lighter on the ground beef, for my lasagna. Family and friends insist I not vary from how I make it. I love the heartyness of the meat and the unimposing flavor of the sauce. Often I will sneak a speghetti sandwich from the sauce leftovers. I do not combine the sauce with the spaghetti. I serve them separately because some people like more sauce and some like more noodle, but that is strictly a preference of mine (many people love the next day combined spaghetti as even better than the original meal. Not me so much, just taste more pasty. .) Also the leftover spaghetti just keeps softening and swelling and sucking out the moisture of the sauce. If you do add a couple tbsp of water to moisten it when reheating. If I have left over noodles I add just enough sauce to make a small batch of already mixed spaghetti just for that late nite snack (my husband). Can add a tsp or so of chili powder just to change it up. Add a lot more chili powder, and some beef stock and beans to make an awesome chili. Why so many words for a basically simple recipe. I want to provide info for new/young cooks. Often we just assume that they know all these tricks. Here you are, of course, only getting my recipe- opinion.