A Fabulous Fall Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

3 lbs Roma or On the Vine tomatoes

1 28oz can Roma tomatoes (unsalted)

1 package white mushrooms

2 green peppers

1 lb carrots

1 large yellow onion

I bunch fresh basil

8 garlic cloves (minced)

Salt and pepper, to taste

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Sprigs of garden herbs: rosemary, winter savory, French thyme (for sauce and meat)

2 lbs ground beef, 85% works fine

1 16 oz ( 1lb) packaged spaghetti noodles

Parmesan cheese, grated

Little Isabella mixin’ it up!

I love to cook this recipe for the little munchkins. It’s a great way for them to eat fresh vegetables without even knowing it.  If you own a food processor, Cuisinart, this tool will come in very handy to mince the vegetable melody.

How to prepare this wonderful comfort food:

In a large stock pot add ¾ water and bring to a boil. Score tomatoes and place them into the boiling water.  Boil for about 5-10 minutes.  You will begin to notice the skins of the tomatoes starting to peel off.  In a large bowl prepare an ice bath (water and ice cubes).  Drain the water from the tomatoes and transfer them to the ice bath.  When cool to touch, peel the skins off.  Place the peeled tomatoes in the food processor.  You should get a nice liquid sauce.  Transfer tomato sauce to a large bowl.

In a food processor mince the mushrooms, green peppers, onion, basil, 4 garlic cloves and garden herbs. You can combine the vegetables together in processor to save time.  Transfer the chopped vegetables to a medium bowl and set aside.

Place the remaining minced garlic and garden herbs in a sauce pan on medium heat. Brown for about 3 minutes.  Add the ground beef and brown until thoroughly cooked.  Drain the juices as needed.  I always leave a small portion of meat juice as that is where the flavor comes from.

Add the browned meat and chopped vegetable melody to a large stock pot. Slowly add the tomato purée to the meat sauce.  Add the olive oil stirring until fully combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer on low for at least one hour.  The longer the better for maximum flavor.

Boil the spaghetti noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain water and place noodles back into the pot.  Gradually add the meat sauce to the noodles.  Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese on top of your spaghetti as much as your little heart desires.  In our family we sprinkle a lot!!!

Garlic bread or a garden salad make fantastic side dishes. Most of these ingredients you can purchase at Trader Joes.  This is a great dish for leftovers.  You can also freeze any meat sauce that remains.  Frozen sauces come in super handy when a mom has “one of those days!”

Enjoy this fun video of my dear Isabella using her Cuisinart skills in the kitchen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_7o1iBQbZQ

Yours truly with Love and Peace in my heart,

G-