Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Mom's Crazy Cooking: Spaghetti Sauce

The challenge for Mom's Crazy Cooking this month was to find a spaghetti sauce.  I liked that this recipe included red wine... something I've really been into these past few months; cooking with wine.  Her recipe used canned tomatoes but I have several gallon bags of roma tomatoes in my freezer that I needed to use up.  Go check out One Couples Kitchen To see her recipe.  She made her sauce using venison, which I bet tasted amazing!

Spaghetti Sauce from Scratch
adapted from One Couples Kitchen

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 6oz can tomato paste
4 1/2 pound roma tomatoes (I had a gallon size bag frozen in my freezer)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup full bodied red wine
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp majoram
1 tsp parsley
1/2 teaspoon baking soda ( this was to help with the acidity of the tomatoes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

Directions
In a large skillet,cook ground meat until browned and cooked through and set aside.

In a large pot, add olive oil and over medium heat saute onion, stirring often; add garlic.  Add the cooked meat and the wine (this will deglaze the pan) add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer for 2 hours.


Serve over pasta and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Photobucket



18 comments:

  1. I bet it was delicious with all that red wine flavor. I had never heard of adding baking soda for the acidity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Baking soda is a new trick I've learned. Before this I would use sugar but that always made the sauce too sweet. Start with 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and use more if needed.

      Delete
  2. Oh how I wish I had several bags of frozen tomatoes stashed in my freezer. This summer, I definitely need to plant a tomato garden!

    I hope you'll stop by an visit my CCC - Spaghetti Pie

    :)
    ButterYum

    ReplyDelete
  3. PS - Baking soda is the little trick I use for iced tea - works really well to neutralize the acid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks ButterYum! Will have to keep that in mind next time I make iced tea!

      Delete
  4. That looks amazing! I have not done much cooking with Red Wine, but I'll bet it is what makes the flavor of this so good! Stopping over from the Crazy Cooking Challenge, I'm #37, if you want to check it out. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Red Wine made this dish what it is... I don't use an expensive red wine either. I think my bottle cost around five dollars.

      Delete
  5. Baking soda huh? I'll have to remember this!
    #29

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I recently discovered this trick myself. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and go up from there.

      Delete
  6. Spaghetti sauce from scratch is delicious!! My recipe is #77 Spaghetti Pie. I would love to have you come visit my website :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. love spaghetti and sauce with meat I've never heard of the baking soda andi

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great tip with the baking soda, never knew this.

    If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my CCC entry: Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter.

    Lisa~~
    Cook Lisa Cook

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the wine, going to add some to my next sauce, bet it makes the flavors just pop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The flavors really do pop! I add the wine right after I have cooked my meat and onions. I use the wine to deglaze the pan... the additional flavor is amazing.

      Delete
  10. I have to try baking soda one day. Clever!

    Jen #19

    ReplyDelete
  11. This sounds delicious. I used red wine in my sauce for this challenge, but it was the my first time cooking with wine. The wine does give the sauce a great flavor.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I had no idea about the baking soda! Good to know. I nearly always use red wine (if I have some) in my spaghetti sauce and chili. It just adds another dimension that I love!

    Tina decided that I hadn't fulfilled the requirements of the challenge, so she excluded me from the linky party. Check out my post and see what you think! http://jennyskitchenmishmash.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete