Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
(from mom2mpr’s recipe box)
Make once a year and freeze.
Family favorite.
Source: Cooking Light-July 2004
Prep time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Serves 12 people
Categories: dinner, freeze, ground beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ultra-lean ground beef
- Cooking spray
- 1 1/2 cups diced onion
- 1 1/2 cups diced green bell pepper
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 large)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (12-ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, undrained
- 14 cups hot cooked spaghetti (about 1 3/4 pounds uncooked pasta)
Directions
-
Cook the meat in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain meat well, and set aside. Wipe out pan with a paper towel, and coat with cooking spray.
-
Place the pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the diced onion, diced bell peppers, and minced garlic, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add zucchini, and sauté 5 minutes. Drain vegetables. Return meat and vegetables to pan, and stir in dried oregano, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Cook mixture over medium-high heat 5 minutes. Add sugar, crushed and stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, and roasted red bell peppers to pan, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until sauce is thick. Serve the meat sauce over pasta.