I love spaghetti!! I make it so many different ways and put different things in it. The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to this meal. One thing I've never done, though, is make my very own sauce and today I've decided to do that. It was a great decision and I was told after supper, that it was the best spaghetti sauce ever. Hm... I would agree. (Granted, the fact that all the ingredients were fresh would alone be enough to make it better than canned... however, I believe I did a great job overall.) The sauce is so flavorful and is thick enough that it doesn't run off your plate. It sticks right to the pasta and evenly coats all the other goodies you'd put in your s'getti!! Enjoy!!
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
6 large tomatoes (I don't know differences, but the large ones you'd slice for BLT's)
1 large yellow onion
olive oil (or veg oil)
5 cloves of garlic
liquid smoke
1 tbsp butter
1/2 C brown sugar
small can of tomato paste
1/4 C white vinegar
1 pkt of Beef Onion soup mix
hot sauce - your favorite, go-to hot sauce
1/3 C Burgundy Red Wine
garlic powder
celery salt
basil (I used dried... didn't have fresh)
Fresh parsley
** grated parm cheese **
1) Heat up about 1/4 C oil in large pot with the chp'd garlic cloves until they are cooked & the oil is infused with garlic. Remove the garlic chunks from the oil and then quarter the large tomatoes & chunk-chop up the large onion.... lightly salt & pepper them & place them in the pot. Drizzle the liquid smoke on top of veggies, as much or little as you like.... I used quite a bit. Once it warms a little add in the butter.
2) Once butter melts & the tomatoes start to mush a bit when you stir it - - add in the brown sugar, paste and vinegar. Stir frequently while on medium heat. The tomatoes will become mushy & more sauce-like, but many chunks will still remain. Add in the soup-mix packet & let it bubble & boil for a few minutes, then turn down to a simmer and let simmer for 3-4 hours, then turn off heat.
3) Once the mixture cools.... blend it until as smooth as you like your sauce. (If you put something in the blender that's got a kick of heat in it, it will cause a lot of pressure build-up and cook burst out of the blender. Thus a big mess for you to clean up! Thanks Bobby Flay, I never knew that!!) Heat the sauce back up... add in your spices. Garlic powder, celery salt, dried basil, salt & pepper, hot sauce and stir in the red wine.
4) Chop up the fresh parsley and top your spaghetti with the parsley & grated parm cheese. Yummy!
For the rest of the meal - - this is what I did....
** Brown 1 lb ground beef in skillet, adding salt & pepper & garlic powder before finished. Adding in 1 Tbsp butter & about 10 small white mushrooms, chunked up. Cook on medium heat until almost done, then add in 1/3C red wine and turn heat up while stirring. The wine will soak into the mushrooms and cook off. Once liquid is gone, it's done.
** For the spaghetti, I tend to always lean toward the thin spaghetti and I buy 1 lb, since my family loves leftovers.
** I usually buys large garlic bread that I can cut up on my own. I cut them into 2-3 in long pieces this time and only put in the oven for 6 min or so, instead of 10, like the package told me to. Meanwhile....
** I cook 1 bunch of fresh asparagus (rough, hard ends trimmed off) in reserved bacon grease. ( I love bacon, as you might know now, and sometimes reserve the grease for future foods. Great for flavoring potatoes and veggies and other things...) I used about 1 Tbsp of the grease. When almost done, I sprinkle some salt & lemon pepper on top & let it cook a min or so more. (I really like the way the lemon pepper enhances the asparagus flavors!)
** Once the bread is out of the oven, turn the broiler on. Top the garlic bread with the asparagus spears & then sprinkle on some white 'Italian' shredded cheese. Place under the broiler for a few minutes, just so the cheese melts and tips turn a bit brown. (Notice: My 4 year old Carter's piece only has 3 asparagus spears... You get in what you can, huh?)
This turned out really great... if you try it, hope you like it just as much!!
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
6 large tomatoes (I don't know differences, but the large ones you'd slice for BLT's)
1 large yellow onion
olive oil (or veg oil)
5 cloves of garlic
liquid smoke
1 tbsp butter
1/2 C brown sugar
small can of tomato paste
1/4 C white vinegar
1 pkt of Beef Onion soup mix
hot sauce - your favorite, go-to hot sauce
1/3 C Burgundy Red Wine
garlic powder
celery salt
basil (I used dried... didn't have fresh)
Fresh parsley
** grated parm cheese **
1) Heat up about 1/4 C oil in large pot with the chp'd garlic cloves until they are cooked & the oil is infused with garlic. Remove the garlic chunks from the oil and then quarter the large tomatoes & chunk-chop up the large onion.... lightly salt & pepper them & place them in the pot. Drizzle the liquid smoke on top of veggies, as much or little as you like.... I used quite a bit. Once it warms a little add in the butter.
2) Once butter melts & the tomatoes start to mush a bit when you stir it - - add in the brown sugar, paste and vinegar. Stir frequently while on medium heat. The tomatoes will become mushy & more sauce-like, but many chunks will still remain. Add in the soup-mix packet & let it bubble & boil for a few minutes, then turn down to a simmer and let simmer for 3-4 hours, then turn off heat.
3) Once the mixture cools.... blend it until as smooth as you like your sauce. (If you put something in the blender that's got a kick of heat in it, it will cause a lot of pressure build-up and cook burst out of the blender. Thus a big mess for you to clean up! Thanks Bobby Flay, I never knew that!!) Heat the sauce back up... add in your spices. Garlic powder, celery salt, dried basil, salt & pepper, hot sauce and stir in the red wine.
4) Chop up the fresh parsley and top your spaghetti with the parsley & grated parm cheese. Yummy!
For the rest of the meal - - this is what I did....
** Brown 1 lb ground beef in skillet, adding salt & pepper & garlic powder before finished. Adding in 1 Tbsp butter & about 10 small white mushrooms, chunked up. Cook on medium heat until almost done, then add in 1/3C red wine and turn heat up while stirring. The wine will soak into the mushrooms and cook off. Once liquid is gone, it's done.
** For the spaghetti, I tend to always lean toward the thin spaghetti and I buy 1 lb, since my family loves leftovers.
** I usually buys large garlic bread that I can cut up on my own. I cut them into 2-3 in long pieces this time and only put in the oven for 6 min or so, instead of 10, like the package told me to. Meanwhile....
** I cook 1 bunch of fresh asparagus (rough, hard ends trimmed off) in reserved bacon grease. ( I love bacon, as you might know now, and sometimes reserve the grease for future foods. Great for flavoring potatoes and veggies and other things...) I used about 1 Tbsp of the grease. When almost done, I sprinkle some salt & lemon pepper on top & let it cook a min or so more. (I really like the way the lemon pepper enhances the asparagus flavors!)
** Once the bread is out of the oven, turn the broiler on. Top the garlic bread with the asparagus spears & then sprinkle on some white 'Italian' shredded cheese. Place under the broiler for a few minutes, just so the cheese melts and tips turn a bit brown. (Notice: My 4 year old Carter's piece only has 3 asparagus spears... You get in what you can, huh?)
This turned out really great... if you try it, hope you like it just as much!!
** ** ** ** ** **
I got an 'early Christmas gift' from my husband - - a nice spaghetti handler!! (I don't know the technical term, but I've always bought the cheap ones and they suck.) Now I have a nice, new one and it works great!! Thanks Chris, I love it!!
