Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 to 2 pounds lean ground beef
1 medium size onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed **To save time & if you are lazy like me, minced garlic (found in the produce dept. of grocery stores) is quick and works great!
1 large can (28oz) CRUSHED tomatoes
1 to 2 cans cooked tomatoes (any will work, I prefer them "diced")
1 large can tomato sauce or paste
1 envelope McCormick's spaghetti seasoning mix
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
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Directions: |
Directions:In a large skillet or dutch oven (a big dutch oven pot works best because the sauce will not splatter all over you!)...brown hamburger meat until no longer pink. Drain well.
Add diced onion and cook until tender, add garlic, stir until heated through.
Add crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce (or paste), stir until blended
Add seasonings; envelope of spaghetti seasoning, oregano and basil, stir to blend thoroughly.
Add cooked tomato pieces (or diced)
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, cover with lid, reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour or two, stirring occasionally, to give the spices time to add flavor... |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: I met my future spouse on a blind date at Shoney's on Chapman Highway June 28th, 1975. I was 23 and starry eyed! He was 25 and had already accomplished much in his young life, a graduate from the University of Virginia, he was teaching history to middle school students when Uncle Sam said "I want YOU"! It was during the Vietnam war and yes..he was drafted. After serving his country, he decided to go to law school and fate brought him to the University of Tennessee's College of Law (fate and the fact that they were on a quarter program instead of semesters which meant a faster track to graduation!). Anyway, I arrived in my Plymouth Barracuda, he in a Renault with a fancy push-button transmission. If I close my eyes, I can still hear the Eagles, Grand Funk., Alice Cooper rocking WKGN, a local and very hip radio station! I was looking good (at least in my own mind) in my white halter top, red bell bottoms and navy blazer! In an era of all things "hippie", he was clean cut, well groomed and dressed in brown & blue pants with a knit shirt! And...did I say...he smelled nice! A gentleman & a scholar, he had a sense of humor that would make a statue laugh and a smile that would melt the polar caps! After having cheesecake at Shoney's, we headed to the theatre to see "JAWS", problem was--the waiting lines were wrapped around the parking lot! Well, we went to a nearby drive-in and watched the exciting and popular Race With The Devil starring Peter Fonda. Such a classic movie (NOT)! Little did I know that fate was pairing me with my soul mate, my partner for life! Indeed, I won life's greatest lottery that fine June day! Back to the story and the tie-in with the recipe! Fortunately for me, he asked me out for a second date. I decided that I would impress him with my superb culinary skills and cook for him! Yes! I cooked the very sauce listed above and served him spaghetti, a tossed salad,
and some kind of bread! I can prove it! He made photographs of that historical day! Just look at my fancy furnishings, a lime green sofa with yellow flowers, a genuine Mediterranean coffee table , matching gold lamps! But pay special attention to how I was channeling the future with my budding "Martha Stewart" style accents...newspaper for placemats! Fancy baking pan to serve the bread in! Not sure what the magazine was for, but it probably served as a trivet/ hot pad to protect my table from heat! WOW! That was 41 years ago! Thank you Frank for asking me out on that second date and third date...etc...and all the sweet things that followed..
And Frank's spin on this momentous spaghetti dinner? "This was my last FREE meal and, my last meal as a FREE man"!
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This recipe for Second Date Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is from