Recipe(tried): Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce
(4 servings)
Note: This can be made very successfully with ground turkey!

1 pound ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms (or one 3oz can of mushrooms)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery or bok choy
2 Tbs Olive oil
4 Garlic cloves; minced
2 lb Canned tomatoes; 4 cups
16 oz Canned tomato sauce; 2 cups
1/4 c Parsley
1-1/2 ts Oregano
1 ts Salt (optional)
1/4 tsp Thyme
1 Bay leaf
1 drief red hot pepper
1 c Water
1/2 tsp course ground pepper

In large skillet, cook onion in hot oil until almost tender. Add meat and garlic, celery and mushrooms; brown lightly.

Transfer to large pot (or crockpot). Add remaining ingredients. Cook covered for two to three hours hours; stir occasionally. Simmer uncovered 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until sauce is thick; stir occasionally. Sauce will reduce to almost 1/2 quantity. Remove bay leaf and red pepper.

Serve over hot spaghetti. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

One pound of spaghetti will serve 4 to 6 as a main dish with sauce.

Note: I always cook my spaghetti sauce at least one day before I want to use it. After cooking I put the whole pot of sauce in the refrigerator over night. Any grease in the sauce will rise to the top of the pot and can easily be picked off. You can then re-heat as much of the sauce as you want. The rest can be frozen in freezer containers for later use.