If you know me at all, you will know that my family eats out most nights, and if we eat "in" it is something frozen from Costco or Trader Joe's. Well, recently I had a Scentsy party and the host was an amazing cook!! She invited a ton of families over, and she made many different dinners! I was shocked! She cooked everything, hosted the party for her friends, and entertained everyone without batting an eye! She also was so sweet to answer my bazillions of questions regarding her food. One of them, was asking for her recipe for her homemade spaghetti sauce. This stuff was wonderful! I got the recipe, and immediately knew I needed to try it out. See I am one of those that tends to get recipes, and well, lose them and never try it. This time I knew it had to be different.
Without further ado, thanks to my friend Kim, here is her recipe.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
3lbs of ground beef turkey, or italian sausage ( or any combination )
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 whole green bell pepper, seeded & diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup low sodium beef broth ( or this can be replaced with 1 cup white wine )
2 cans 28 oz crushed tomatoes
1 can 14 oz crushed tomatoes
1 can 4-6 oz tomato paste
1 jar of good store bought marinara sauce ( I know I know but I promise its good! )
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground thyme
4 whole bay leaves
2 tablespoons honey/agave
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper ( optional )
1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley ( or 3 tablespoons parsley flakes ) more to taste
Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, brown the ground beef until browned. Remove meat from pot with a slotted spoon into a bowl and put aside.
Discard any grease in the pot but do not clean it. Drizzle in olive oil. When it is heated, throw in the onion and bell pepper. Stir it around for 1 1/2 minutes, then add the garlic. Stir and cook for an additional minute.
Pour in the beef broth ( or wine ) and allow it to bubble up and reduce for about 1 1/2 minutes.
Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and marinara sauce. Stir to combine. Add oregano, thyme, honey, salt, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper ( if desired ). Stir, then add cooked ground beef and stir to combine.
Place the lid on the pot and allow to simmer over low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Note: this makes A TON!!! I fed 5 adults and 2 kids, and had enough to refrigerate some for another night and freeze some for yet another night.
This is an actual picture of my plate that night :)