Mel’s Super-Awesome Spaghetti Sauce

I love spaghetti sauce packed with black olives, garlic, ground beef, and delicious herbs. I don’t really understand the point of bottled–or worse, canned–spaghetti sauce, since it’s easy to make much better spaghetti sauce yourself, and it freezes well. I’ve never even found restaurant marinara sauce I like–it’s usually weak, watery, and bland. Someday I’ll actually make this from fresh tomatoes, but for now I use good-quality canned tomatoes (Muir Glen is my favorite).

This makes a lot of sauce for one person and just about enough for two people who really like spaghetti and are happy to eat it for lunch (or breakfast) the next day. If you plan on freezing any, I highly suggest making at least a double batch–I never have enough left over after the first couple meals to be worth freezing.

For people (kids and adults) with Textural Issues, pureeing the onions and/or tomatoes in a food processor works well to make a smoother sauce. I used to pick the onions out as a kid ’cause I couldn’t stand the crunch; now I just sautee them into limp submission.

Mel’s Super-Awesome Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients

1 can Muir Glen diced tomatoes (I often use the basil-garlic flavor)
1 can Muir Glen tomato sauce
A couple spoonfuls of tomato paste

1 small can sliced olives
A splash of red wine (optional)

To taste:
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Ground rosemary
Rubbed sage
Salt
Black pepper

Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
Garlic to taste, minced
3/4 – 1 lb. lean ground hamburger or turkey (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix together tomatoes, olives, alcohol, and herbs/spices in a saucepan, tasting frequently. It helps to rub the herbs in your hands before adding them to release yummy flavor. Set to simmer on a back burner.

2. Fry the onions in olive oil until soft. At this point, if you’re using a small frying pan, add them to the sauce. Otherwise, you can leave them in.

3. Fry the garlic for a little bit in olive oil (not much!). Then add the ground hamburger.

4. Drain off grease if necessary (I use lean hamburger because I don’t like draining off the yummy garlic-flavored olive oil) and add hamburger and garlic to sauce.

5. Simmer as long as you like. Check for flavorings before removing from heat.

Notes: You could also add mushrooms or other vegetables, although I wouldn’t add much without cutting back on the hamburger or leaving it out. It’s also good with fewer herbs–I’ve just been adding more over the years (it started out with the basil/oregano/thyme)–but the rosemary really gives it a special flavor and I strongly suggest leaving it in (basil is also vital). You can substitute fresh herbs for dried. I don’t usually put the wine in, but it’s nice occasionally.