Hearty Skillet Spaghetti Sauce
A friend commented on the lack of “Italian” food on here. I’m not Italian, I’m Scottish, but hey.. I can do pasta. I’m a fan of the traditional sauces. Totino’s, which used to be in NE Minneapolis had one of those great, basic red sauces. When I make spaghetti sauce at home though, I like “stuff” in it.
Since it’s just me, this recipe makes only about 2-3 portions. You can double it, but it won’t all fit in a skillet… so you’ll have to change the name or something I suppose.
What you need…
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium (baseball sized) onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
4 oz freshed mushrooms, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground beef
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1-15 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup red wine
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Warm up a deep skillet (or in a dutch oven or other large pot) over medium heat and add the olive oil. Sautee the onions for about 2-3 minutes, then add the green peppers and sautee for another 2-3 minutes. Next go the mushrooms… and as they start to brown add the garlic. After about a minute, take these off the heat and move to a separate container.
Return the skillet to the burner and brown the ground beef, crumbling it up as it cooks. If you really like garlic, like I do, add another couple minced up garlic cloves just before the meat is done browning. Once it is browned, drain any excess fat and add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, wine, oregano and basil. Stir it up good, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer at least half an hour. It will thicken up quite a bit. If you like it thinner, try adding either a bit more tomato sauce or even some tomato juice.
In the meantime, cook up your spaghetti, bout 1/2 pound. Once it’s done, plate it up, spoon some sauce over the top and add some parmesean cheese and maybe add some garlice bread on the side.
Oh, the wine is optional. I usually don’t have any around since I don’t drink it. But sometimes my sister or mom have some left over and I freeze it in 2 tablespoon portions like ice cubes and keep them in the freezer for stuff like this.
Tags: basil, bell pepper, diced tomatoes, garlic, ground beef, olive oil, onion, oregano, pasta, spaghetti, tomato sauce, wine