Spaghetti from Scratch

Spaghetti is one of those things that I dreaded making for a while because I started hating the store bought spaghetti sauce. It just had a nasty flavor so I didn't make spaghetti for a while. Then I ran across this recipe which is fantastic on allrecipes.com. Everything is from scratch.


You basically mix some tomato sauce, spices and seasons, cooked veggies and meat and let it simmer for an hour or so. It is VERY yummy this way and we love it, but I found a way that is a little cheaper and easier and still yummy.


Ingredients:
2 Large peppers or 3-4 small ones (I like green for spaghetti best)
2 onions
6 cloves of garlic
1.5 lbs of hamburger meat or sausage
2 large cans of spaghetti sauce*
1 tsp Italian Seasoning

*I buy the Hunt brad and usually get it for $.99. With the original recipe I ended up spending $4-5 just on tomato sauce so this saves a few bucks. I know it's not that much, but when you're trying to stick to a budget 2 or 3 dollars a meal makes a huge difference!

OPTIONAL
You can also add a couple cans of tomato sauce if you want it to go further and don't like the sauce too thick. If you do you should add a little sugar, salt, and Italian seasoning.


1. Chop up the veggies
2. Fry the veggies and meat until the meat is cooked, drain off the grease
3. Add the spaghetti sauce and seasons and extra sauce if you want more
4. Let it simmer on the stove for an hour or cook on low in the crockpot for 3 or 4 hours. I like the crockpot method better.
5. Serve over noodles
6. Bag and freeze the extras for lasagna or another spaghetti dinner.

This is really yummy, healthy, cheap, and relatively easy. I love the fact that it makes enough for two full meals. This sauce makes lasagna REMARKABLE! I usually store the extra sauce in the freezer for a few weeks and then make lasagna with the leftovers. Yum