Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti is my absolute go-to meal.  It's easy, inexpensive, and you can make a huge batch and freeze it in single-meal servings in ziploc bags, saving even more via bulk purchasing, and allowing for super simple meal preparation later.

Because of this, the measurements I will be giving are relative, easily adjusted to the size batch you are making.  Just be aware so that you scale them appropriately.  I usually use a 3-lb container of ground beef, 6 jars of sauce, and about 4 large onions, for example.

For parents with vegetable-averse kids, it's easy to sneak in some extra veggies in this, too.  Just finely mince whatever veggies you like – carrots and bell peppers are great choices, for example, thanks to their nutrient contents – and add them midway through the browning of the onions.  By the time it's done cooking, they should be unidentifiable.

Ingredients:

• 1 small to medium sized onion
• 1 jar of premade spaghetti sauce (I use Ragu Old World Style in either Mushroom or Traditional)
• 1/2 lb lean ground beef (I usually use ground chuck)
• pepper
• garlic powder
• paprika
• good quality Italian seasoning blend
• grapeseed or vegetable oil

 Optional:

• smoked paprika
• pinch of saffron
• turmeric
• cumin
• basil
• lemon thyme (or regular if you can't find lemon)
• fresh garlic
• mushrooms

Directions:

1. Chop onions, varying sizes from finely diced to about half inch sq. pieces
   
2.  Use just a little grapeseed oil (as little as you can get away with) on lowish medium heat (4 on most stoves) and saute onions until translucent and edges are just beginning to brown.
   
3. Add ground chuck, and increase heat to med-high (6-7).  Add a lot of pepper and garlic powder as it browns.  Once mostly (but not completely) cooked, add a generous amount of paprika, and just a little smoked paprika if using (a little goes a long way with the smoked). (The waiting until mostly cooked is just because it makes it harder to tell how done the meat is because the paprika makes it much redder.)
   
4. Add sauce.  Use a little water (about 1/3 jar per every 4 or 5) to rinse out the jars (pour from one to the next, cover, and shake, until it is too saturated with sauce to be effective.)
   --Optional: Add some sliced fresh or drained canned mushrooms (however many, up to about one small can per regular sized jar of sauce.)
   
5. Add more pepper and garlic powder, and a generous amount (about 2 Tbs for a very large batch) of Italian seasoning; and if using, a pinch of saffron, some turmeric (about 1 tsp for a large batch), a bit of cumin, and a generous amount of basil and thyme.  If you are opting to add fresh minced garlic, omit the additional garlic powder from this step, and add the minced garlic just before turning off the heat.
   
6. Return to simmer, then reduce heat to lowish medium (around 4) and then allow to cook for half an hour or so (coincidentally about how long it takes pasta to cook!)
   
7. Serve over pasta of your choice prepared according to package directions.

If you opt to freeze servings in plastic bags, the easiest way to defrost is to put a little water in the bottom of a pan, cut the baggy off the frozen sauce with a knife, and set it on the stove on low until mostly thawed.  Then, turn up the heat to warm it up and make your pasta.

Print this post