Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1-1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 - 6 oz can tomato paste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped finely
1 bell pepper, green or yellow, chopped
4 tbsp fresh basil, chopped or 3 tsp dried sweet basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp sugar (if needed)
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Directions: |
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a stock pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add garlic and sauté for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is translucent, don't let it turn brown. Remove the garlic and set aside. Add onions and bell pepper, sauté until onions are translucent. Add ground beef, stirring to break up into bite-sized pieces (not too small, you still want bites of meat, rather than granules), reduce heat to medium and cook until meat is browned, with no red showing. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste, stir until well combined. Put the garlic back into the sauce. Add the basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper, stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a slow simmer and simmer for at least 15 minutes, but it is better if you let it simmer for an hour or more. Taste the sauce, if it has a slightly metallic, bitter taste, add a little sugar, one teaspoon at a time, this will take away that hint of bitterness that sometimes comes from the canned tomato sauce, but all you want to do is take away that sharpness, you don't want to make the sauce sweet.
Serve with your favorite pasta.
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Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Making your own pasta sauce is really pretty simple, tastes much better than jarred sauce, is less expensive than jarred sauce and you know what you are getting. Many commercially jarred or canned sauces have preservatives and/or mystery ingredients such as "natural juices" which can be scary if you have any food allergies. Natural juices can be anything from tomato juice to clam juice and if you are allergic to any foods you don't dare eat anything that says "natural juices".
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