Deanna's Spaghetti Sauce

I married an Italian. Not an I-talian, but an Italian. When we were first married, I tried making homemade spaghetti sauce. I remember spending all day chopping fresh tomatoes and cooking up a potful of sauce. I wanted to impress my Italian husband with this sauce I had spent so much time preparing. When I served it the Marty he wasn't impressed. He doesn't remember what he said after he took his first bite, but I do. He said it was kind of bland--in fact he called it
"Chef-Boy-are-Deanna" after the Chef Boyardee store brand. I was kind of mad. I had spent an entire day making this sauce and it tasted like something that came out of a can. So I made a decision that day.

If after spending all day cooking and it still tasted like a store-bought spaghetti sauce, why not just buy a store-bought spaghetti sauce and start from there.

I experimented with lots of brands and finally decided on the one I liked the best. Barilla. It has been a family favorite for many years. I have served it to lots of people, and the one Italian that I tried to impress many years ago loves it.


1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cloves of fresh garlic--crushed
1/2 tablespoon of dried basil
1/2 tablespoon of dried parsley
1/2 tablespoon of dried oregano

1 pound of hamburger
2-3 mild Italian sausages
2-3 pieces of lamb... optional (I put it in there because Marty likes lamb)

5 bottles of Barilla spaghetti sauce. I usually buy a combination of tomato basil, mushroom, and marina.

First, saute the herbs in the olive oil until it is golden over a medium heat. This only takes about 3-4 minutes. (Do not brown the garlic, it won't taste very good) Once the herbs have been cooking for a few minutes, add the meat. If you are using Italian sausage links, remove the casings before add it to the pot. Stir the meat as it browns.
Once the meat has browned, add the jars of spaghetti sauce. After the jars are empty, I add a little water to each jar and swirl it around to get the rest of the sauce out. Add the water to the rest of the sauce and cook over a low heat for a few hours. I usually cook the sauce for about 4 to 5 hours stirring every so often.

Serve this over your choice of pasta. Freeze the remaining sauce in ziplock bags. It freezes really well and is a wonderful quick dinner that can be enjoyed for months later.