Dad's Spaghetti Sauce + Kitchen Essentials Giveaway!

If you're just stopping by, it's Italy week at Gather Around Our Table and I'm sharing some of my favorite Italian recipes with you! Let me tell you, we had this meal for dinner a couple of nights ago and my mouth is watering just re-typing the recipe. 

A couple weeks ago a friend sent me a text with a request that I post a spaghetti sauce recipe on the blog. I haven't really attempted my own, and to be quite honest I have no reason to. 

At my dad's 80th birthday party (yup, you read that right) all his sweet friends and family stood up and read letters to him recounting all the fun they had through the years over a few beers and most importantly surrounding my dad's cooking. I can't stress enough how sought after this man is for his cooking! Requests come in from all over the country for this guy's corned beef and cabbage, baked ravioli, and of course this famous spaghetti sauce. 

You guys, the recipe's not even hard. If we were really living in Italy, maybe he would have grown his own tomatoes and canned them all then made a fresh pot of sauce. But we don't, so I'll let you in on a little secret, he cheats with the canned stuff...gasp... And it's freaking delicious. 

I wouldn't lie to you. The old man has paid good money to ship this sauce all frozen up in packages to family across the country. It's crazy talk. Okay, here's the recipe before you faint in anticipation. 

This recipe makes a huge batch, enough to serve 12, so invite your entire family like a good Italian or just freeze the rest for future meals. It makes a great go-to dinner in a pinch.

Ingredients:

Olive oil 

1 medium white onion, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

Small box of sliced mushrooms

1 pound  ground beef

1 pound mild italian pork sausage 

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 (28 ounce) can tomato purée 

1 (15 ounce) can diced whole tomatoes

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1/4 bottle of Chianti wine (Ruffino is a good brand)

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon sugar

Pour a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot, set to medium low heat. Add onion, garlic and sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft.

Add ground beef to the same pot, breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Remove pork sausage from the casing and chop into 1 inch pieces. Add chili powder, stirring to combine with everything, and continue to cook until browned.  

Pour in tomato purée, chopped tomatoes and tomato paste.

Take 1/4 of a bottle of good Chianti wine and use it to wash out the remaining tomato purée from the can. Add to the mix.

If using fresh herbs, rinse and dry them, remove the leaves from stems and chop them up finely. Add to the sauce. If you are using dried herbs, rub between your hands to bring out the flavors of the spices before placing in the sauce.

Add the sugar and salt and pepper to taste, and bring heat to a medium simmer. Check to make sure the heat is not too high so the sauce wont scorch. Continue simmering for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. 

Check for taste and add seasonings as desired. 

We served ours over a bed of spaghetti squash, but this sauce is delicious over your favorite pasta, in a baked lasagna dish, with ravioli and sopped up by warm french bread. 

Giveaway time! I'm a brand new contributor for My Cooking Spot, along with some other amazing women. We all got together and wanted to share our love for cooking by giving away a 51-piece Kitchen Gadget Set! 

I am so honored and excited to be sharing recipes with them each month. Hop on over to MCS for my twist on teriyaki chicken legs and don't forget to enter below for these kitchen essentials. 

Below are the contributors who helped put this giveaway together. Check out their inspiring blogs and see all the amazing recipes these ladies have to share.

Contributors - Clockwise

Jana: Life Could Be a Dream Blog - Rachel: Oh Simple Thoughts - Marcella: Marcella Roses

Erin: My Cooking Spot - Natasha: Gather Around Our Table - Madison: Wetherill Say I Do

Jen: Jen's Favorite Cookies - Nathalia: Creatively Conscious - Meme: Meme Inge - Erin: The Speckled Palate

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