How do u make HOMEMADE spaghetti sauce?!


Question: is it really worth the time and effort...or should I
just stick with Ragu?


Answers: is it really worth the time and effort...or should I
just stick with Ragu?

Ok, HOMEMADE you said?

BASIC HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE

11/2 Clove Garlic
1 LARGE Sweet (yellow) onion
3 lbs of Fresh ROMA tomatoes
1/3 cup of FRESH oregano
2 cups of water (or as needed)

STUFF that you can add.

1/12 LEAN ground beef(OPTIONAL
10 mushrooms(OPTIONAL)
1 LARGE Green Bell pepper(OPTIONAL)

REMEMBER: HOMEMADE MEANS NO CANNED NOR JARRED STUFF IN IT.

Finely chop garlic, onion, and 2 pounds of the fresh tomatoes.

Heat (medium high) 3 tblspn Olive Oil in a large size sauce pan.

Put the garlic first, lightly brown it, then put the onion, then 30 seconds after put the tomatoes in then sauted for about 3 minutes. then CRUSH the remaining pound of tomatoes with your hands in to the pan, add the oregano then sauted them for another 2 minutes until it becomes saucy in texture then add the 2 cups of water, cover it then let it simmer until most of the water evaporates, then add last and pepper to taste. ENJOY!

w/ the GROUND BEEF. add them while you sauted the garlic and onion. WAIT until the meat's cooked (lightly brown in color) before adding the tomatoes.

The BELL PEPPER OR MUSHROOMS can be added with the CRUSHED tomatoes.

it is worth the effort.
In the summer when the tomatoes are nice i make the sauce from scratch
in the winter when fresh tometoes aren't so great i just brown ground beef and simmer it with crushed tomatoes. that doesn't really take too much more time than heating jarred sauce.

I promise, if you make it once, you'll never go for Ragu again
1 pound ground round beef
1 pound ground pork
1 pound Italian sausage
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
5 large cans tomato paste
10 tomato paste cans water
4 tablespoons Parmesan
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
6 leaves fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the ground beef, pork and sausage until it is brown. Drain off excess fat. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. Cook for 3 to 4 hours on medium heat, stirring often to prevent scorching.

While I don't have an exact recipe I have a method of making homemade sauce. (you don't NEED a recipe though)

I brown ground meat - generally beef
add chopped onion and garlic (usually grate the garlic - so easy)
Once browned, I drain, put back on stove and will add whatever canned tomatoes I have on hand. I also add a can of tomato paste to this as it helps to thicken it up. from there once its back up to a boil I add whatever I want in my sauce. I can add more garlic, more onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, olives, zucchini, whatever I have on hand or want to put in my sauce. My husband loves pasta of any kind and loves my sauce. I usually add tons of seasonings, like Parsley, italian seasonings, some red chili pepper flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, maybe some worcestire sauce (gives it a nice meaty flavor) and whatever else I feel like adding. There are no rules and its all a matter of taste. The good thing is the longer it cooks, the better it tastes.
(as a side effect, just as a precaution, my sauce never turns out the same, some would consider that good, some would consider it bad. We consider it good because it doen't get old that way. I can use my sauces for anything from manicotti to lasagne and spagetti and its always great!) Good luck!

Take pride in making it homemade! =D

It's worth it IMO. But I still keep a can of two fo Hunt's spaghetti sauce in the pantry for quick fix meals! (Hunt's is better than Ragu or Prego, btw... give it a try!)


To this recipe, you can add Italian Sausage or ground beef that has been cooked prior.

Mark Strausman’s Tomato Sauce
--Makes about 9 cups

If you are preparing this recipe in August or September, use fresh plum tomatoes, which are at the height of their season then. Cut them into large pieces, and run them through the food mill just as you would canned tomatoes. Slow cooking will allow the skin to melt into the sauce. For canned tomatoes, Mark likes to use Italian plum tomatoes from the Italian San Marzano Valley. ("CENTO" is one brand.)

4 (28 oz) cans whole Italian plum tomatoes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tsp. crushed red-pepper flakes
1 cup Chianti or dry red wine
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
8 leaves fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Purée tomatoes in a food mill, removing most of the seeds. In a medium stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat, add garlic, and sauté until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add red-pepper flakes. While oil is sizzling, slowly add half of the puréed tomatoes and the wine, stirring to mix. Add remaining tomatoes, reduce heat to low, and let simmer. Add oregano, and continue to simmer until slightly thickened, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The sauce may be kept in the refrigerator up to 3 or 4 days in an airtight plastic container or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Homemade all the way. All it takes is a little imagination and some whole canned tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, onion, oregano, mushrooms, Italian sausage, or ground beef and some red wine.

It's second nature to me, so I make it all the time:

In a large heavy skillet, I just saute a few chopped garlic cloves and a large chopped onion in olive oil until soft, add a pinch of hot pepper flake, throw in a big can of crushed plum tomatoes, rinse out the can with a bit of wine and pour that in and add a bay leaf. I let that simmer for a while, then add some fresh or dried herbs, a little salt & pepper, and simmer it until the flavors come together. It doesn't take more than 20 minutes to make a good marinara sauce.

Canned tomatoes are fine, in fact I think it's a much richer flavor.
Just make sure to get the imported Roma tomatoes.





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