Saturday, November 2, 2013

Great Spaghetti Sauce and Homemade Ricotta

HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE
(A recipe I found on the internet—that I improved the process/technique of for my tastes) 
By no means is this an authentic Italian style sauce. An suspect an Italian would be horrified. BUT-- I have not been to Italy, and it tastes great to me.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced (to taste)
½ cup celery, minced
¼ cup green bell pepper, chopped fine
2 Tablespoons butter
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 lbs sausage (like a roll of Jimmy Dean) or ground beef (80/20 mix)
½ teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper (more to taste)
6 oz mushrooms (fresh), chopped fine
1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
2 (10.5 oz) cans of beef broth
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)