Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

My mom's sauce is my favorite!  And mine tastes just like hers.

We used to have spaghetti sauce at least once a week when I was a kid.  It reminds me of cold Saturday nights in the wintertime, when my entire family gathered together to eat dinner.  Those were good times.  We usually had leftover sauce once during the week too.

My mom always makes her famous meatballs in the sauce, and she adds links of sweet Italian sausage.  Even though Chris and I don't even like the sausage, I always put it in so the sauce will taste right!

Making sauce actually isn't that difficult.  You just have to be sure to stir it every 15-20 minutes so it doesn't burn.

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

1 medium onion, pulverized (use a food processor - I use my Pampered Chef chopper)
1 tsp minced garlic
olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pot)
6 28-oz cans of crushed tomatoes (I use Red Pack)
Parmesan cheese
basil
parsley

one batch of Mom's Meatballs
4 links of sweet Italian sausage, cut in half (use hot sausage if you like that better)

Heat olive oil in a very large Dutch oven.  Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil for 20 minutes.  If the garlic or onion begins to brown, add a spoon or two of crushed tomatoes.  Continue to simmer for the full 20 minutes.

Add 6 cans of crushed tomatoes.  Add the equivalent of 1/2 can TOTAL of water by rinsing each can with a small stream of water.  You should be dumping in what looks like thin tomato juice from each can, not just water.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese, basil and parsley over the top and mix in completely.  I would guess I use about 1 tsp of each spice and maybe 1/4 cup of the cheese.  Adjust to your taste.

Stir sauce often until entire pot heats up.  It might take about 20 minutes or so before the mixture heats through.  Once heated, turn it down to one notch above Lo.  Stir every 15-20 minutes for 2 hours.

Add raw meatballs and sausage.  Turn temperature up briefly, as the cold meat will cool down the sauce mixture.  Turn back down to one notch above Lo.  Stir VERY gently every 15-20 minutes for at least an hour.  I like to cook mine for 1 1/2 hours.

Serve over pasta of your choice!  Add a salad and fresh Italian bread or garlic bread for a complete meal.

This is what the sauce looks like before you add the meat.  The meatballs and sausage bring it right to the top of my pan!