A very long time ago—when I was a teenager—a gracious, lovely woman taught me how to cook “nuttin’ fancy,” as she put it. Nonnina, my high-school sweetheart’s gramma, took me to her side and instructed me in all things Italian…and not just the food! But food she DID teach me! Mostly we cooked in the basement—her summer kitchen. When I asked her why, when we just had to carry the finished dishes back upstairs, she would tell me “ ‘Cause I’m-a not gonna stink up-a da house!” 😉 We made pasta of all types, cookies, meat dishes, desserts, soups… and spaghetti sauce or, as Nonnina called it, “gravy.” So today, I give you ‘Spaghetti Sauce’ wishing I could throw a kiss to Nonnina for ALL that she schooled me in (and taught me about love)!

Spaghetti Sauce

Makes 13+ cups

1# ground beef
1# Italian sausage meat
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 medium-large sweet (Vidalia) onion, chopped small
3 tablespoons minced garlic (jarred)
1 cup good red wine
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes with seasonings
1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
3 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1+ cups beef broth
2 tablespoon each dried basil
1 teaspoon each dried thyme, oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt,  1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

In a large saute pan over medium high heat, brown meats together. When cooked, set aside in a large bowl including the juices. Pour the olive oil into a stockpot (6 quart size or so), heat over medium heat, and add the chopped onions. Cook for 5-6 minutes ‘til soft but not browned; add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Then pour in the wine and cook ‘til the wine is almost evaporated; 3-4 minutes or so.

At this point, pour in all of tomato products stirring well as you add them. Pour a small amount of the beef broth into the cans and swirl around (Nonnina-style) to get as much tomato product out of the cans as possible, and empty into your stockpot. Also add the cooked meats along with any accumulated juices. Stir in your seasonings; don’t forget the brown sugar! When the sauce starts coming to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low.

All you want the sauce to do is simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or so. It is important every 5-6 minutes to give a thorough, quick stir up from the bottom of the pan. This is a thick sauce and you wouldn’t want to have it stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. (Nonnina ALWAYS insisted that, when you remove the lid to stir, quickly tip it up flat so that the condensation doesn’t drip into the ‘gravy.’ Why? The water will dilute your sauce…and we don’t want that! Just pour it into the sink and quickly replace the lid.)
That’s it! You have now made ‘gravy!’ (And your house must smell fantastic!)

If not serving immediately, let cool a bit and then package for storage. I put approximately 2 cup portions into freezer bags (I use the type that have a wider sealing ‘zipper.’) If you lay them flat in the freezer ‘til completely frozen, they can then be stored anywhere in the freezer taking up little space!

And now for the Bonus!! 🙂

Bonus? What bonus? The bonus, friends, is a lasagna recipe using the Spaghetti Sauce! Putting lasagna together is SIMPLE! Try it; I think your family will be impressed! Gather your ingredients…this goes quickly.

Lasagna

2 boxes “no-boil” lasagna noodles (you will have some extra)*
16 ounces shredded cheese, such as mozzarella, provolone
2 ounces parmesan (freshly grated is preferred)
4 cups of spaghetti sauce (preferably the ‘gravy’ you just made!)

for the cheesy mixture:
3# ricotta
8 ounces shredded mozzarella
2-4 ounces parmesan
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Now, combine the cheesy mixture together in a large bowl. Then, using a 9X13 pan, begin assembling your lasagna (see * below):
Pour about 2/3 cup of your spaghetti sauce onto the bottom spreading around. [Tip: I find that a soup ladle is approximately 1/3 cup so I just use that as my ‘measuring tool.’] Lay down 4 no-boil lasagna noodles. Just overlap them slightly to fit.
Top with 1/3 of the cheesy mixture; spread. Add 2 ladles of sauce.
Add 4 more noodles, 1/3 of the cheesy mixture, 1 cup of shredded cheese, 2 ladles of sauce.
Add 4 more noodles, 1/3 of the cheesy mixture, 1 cup of shredded cheese, 2 ladles of sauce.
Add 4 more noodles, 2 ladles of sauce, the balance of the shredded cheese and the parmesan.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 50-60 minutes, ‘til bubbly. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes or so. Remove from oven…let sit for 15 minutes before cutting to firm up. As Nonnina would say, “Mangia! Mangia! (Eat! Eat!)” And she would toss a kiss up to God! <3

* I use the Barilla brand. The trick to using these noodles is to make certain that the noodles are covered with sauce and the cheesy mixture! And certainly you can use traditional lasagna noodles that need to be pre-cooked! If you do, just reduce the amount of sauce you place between layers as you build your lasagna dish.

God loves you! and I do, too.
<3 coleen

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