My Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti And Meat Sauce

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I had my sister text me her copy of my mom’s spaghetti recipe, as seen above and proof my sister is this recipe’s number one fan (and it looks like she’s also quite the stellar recipe tester!)

I wrote the recipe down years ago and plopped it into my tattered recipe binder. Eventually I’d made it so many times I committed it to memory. But as time passed it didn’t taste quite as good as my mom’s, a fact I didn’t actually realize until she made us all her original version when my sister was visiting. (Naturally my sister got to choose her favorite dish for dinner, because hello, she’s still the favorite :) )

That dinner is when I realized I was missing one very crucial ingredient that makes this spaghetti so special, and isn’t often found in spaghetti sauce. Have you spied it yet? I’ll reveal in a minute, but first, let’s talk basics…
This it the type of recipe you can easily have at the ready thanks to a simply stocked pantry and a few foundation refrigerator ingredients I can always find at my local Smith’s Marketplace / Kroger store.
Since working with Kroger for the past few years and because it is my main grocery store for shopping (I spend way too much time wandering the garden section!) I’ve become more and more impressed with the quality of their private label store brands like Simple Truth, HemisFares and Private Selection. And the design geek in me is happy to see the evolution of package design for their staple Kroger brand so that the label matches the goodness within. What can I say? Labels matter.

Ingredients

• 1 pound 85% lean ground beef
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 4 stalks celery chopped
• 4 garlic cloves minced or pressed
• 1 29- ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 29- ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 6- ounce can tomato paste
• 2 7- ounce cans sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 15- ounce can beef broth
• 5-6 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 4 teaspoons dried
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound dried spaghetti noodles
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a large heavy bottomed stock pot over medium high heat, cook the ground beef until browned, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the rendered fat and add the meat back to the pot. Add the chopped onion, celery and garlic and cook until the vegetables soften, about 5-7 more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, stir and cover with a lid, and cook for at least three hours on medium low heat, stirring occasionally.
2. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions in generously salted water. Drain and mix into the spaghetti sauce. Serve with grated or ground Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley if desired.
3. .............................................

for full instruction please see : www.foodiecrush.com

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