Another beautiful thing about working from home on a chilly, snowy day is the ability to chop veggies on my lunch hour and let this delicious spaghetti sauce simmer all afternoon. This is a great spaghetti sauce. I’d say it’s “like my mom used to make” – cause she gave me the recipe! Which I tweaked to use veggies that I had (original recipe calls for mushrooms, so chop and add them if you like them!)

The Best Spaghetti Sauce. Ever.

¼ cup olive oil
1 large onions, thinly sliced
Five cloves garlic, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
5 stalks celery, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
One pound ground beef
Two large cans (20-ounce) diced tomatoes
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
½ teaspoon rosemary
½ teaspoon marjoram
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 bay leaf

Heat 1/8 cup olive oil and add onions, garlic, pepper, celery and zucchini. Stir and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1/8 cup oil in a frying pan, then brown meat and drain grease.

Add remaining ingredients (beef, 2 cans tomatoes – I used the diced tomatoes in garlic, tomato paste, and seasoning) and mix until combined.

Simmer over low heat, covered, for 2 or 3 hours until the consistency that you prefer has been reached. Remove bay leaf.

Cool before packaging. Store in portions in freezer, and keep for up to 2 months. Makes 6 – 8 servings.

I never used to make my own sauce cause both of our mom’s make excellent spaghetti sauce and are generous with it. It’s impossible to go back to the jarred stuff after eating this though…so I’m glad it is also fun to make!