Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• 2 stalks celery
• 1 large onion
• 2 -4 cloves garlic (or 2-4 tablespoons of diced garlic from the jar you can adjust to taste.)
• 3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste (i prefer contadina)
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans tomatoes (use what you prefer, but i like the diced italian seasoning type)
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 lb ground beef or 1 lb stewing beef, cut in cubes (optional)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use vegetable oil if you prefer)
• 4 -8 ounces sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 2 -4 ounces black olives, chopped or sliced (optional)
• 1 bell pepper (optional)
• oregano
• thyme
• sweet basil
• rosemary
• cumin
• italian seasoning, can be used in place of the above spices
• bay leaf
• crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt
• black pepper

Recipe

• 1 cut celery and onion (and bell pepper if used) as fine as you prefer.
• 2 if you like chunky style sauce make the pieces bigger, i like mine chopped fairly small.
• 3 in a large skillet, heat 1-2 tblspn of oil, when oil is hot (not smoking) add celery and stirfry.
• 4 as celery begins to clarify, add onion (and bell pepper, if used) and stirfry until it begins to glaze, add chopped garlic, stir for a short time (don't let anything begin to brown).
• 5 if using meat, add ground beef or stew beef and brown, stirring regularly, adjust heat to make sure nothing burns.
• 6 salt and black pepper to taste.
• 7 transfer to a larger pot (if you have a good sized pot that you can brown in, you can just start with that instead of using the skillet.).
• 8 stir in tomato paste and cook until the color darkens.
• 9 stir in tomatos and tomato sauce.
• 10 add spices (italian seasoning or individual spices) to taste.
• 11 add 3 bay leaves.
• 12 stir in mushrooms and/or black olives and crushed red pepper, if desired.
• 13 stir in 1-2 cans of water (i use the tomato paste, tomato and tomato paste cans to get the leavings out of them.).
• 14 adjust heat to simmer.
• 15 let cook for at least 1 hour, longer if you can, and stir regularly.
• 16 check spice to taste and add what you want.
• 17 you can cook this for a little while or for a longer time.
• 18 i prefer at least 2 hours to give all the spices a chance to blend well.
• 19 but it can be cooked for as little as a half hour.
• 20 if you want it to cook for a long time, monitor the thickness and add water as needed.
• 21 don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving.
• 22 some people like to add a pinch of sugar to cut the acidity, but i believe that the bay leaves accomplish this and have never used sugar.
• 23 when done, serve over or mix with the cooked pasta of your choice.
• 24 add grated parmissan if desired.
• 25 also individuals can add crushed red pepper to their own servings, for those who like it a little spicier.
• 26 if making a baked dish such as lasagna, ziti, etc.
• 27 you may want to make the sauce a little thinner (add water) to start with.