Meat Sauce (made with fresh tomatoes)

I love Italian food! In fact, spaghetti with my mom’s homemade sauce is still what I ask Mom to make every year for my birthday dinner- and that has been my request almost every year since I was a little girl.

So, imagine my dilemma when I found out that my husband, Tim, really did not care for Italian dishes- particularly red sauce. He’s not a picky eater. But, he’s fairly adamant about this.

Well, for the first half of our marriage, I really did not fix very much “red sauce” meals other than the occasional lasagna or homemade sauce when I just really really craved some beloved Italian, but I knew he wasn’t enjoying those meals.

But then, a year or two ago, I decided that I was going to try to come up with a sauce that he enjoyed- so we could both be happy. Surely I could change his mind with the right recipe!

So, after playing with it a little bit, I came up with this fresh sauce. Tim now ASKS me to make it and loves eating it! Woo-Hoo!!!! Welcome back to the table, Spaghetti!

I either use tomatoes directly from our garden, or in the fall and winter, I use tomatoes that I have preserved by freezing. (you could also use canned, if that’s all you have available.) This sauce is not a thick sauce like you might find in the bottled variety. It is much thinner, due to the fact that I only use tomatoes- no prepackaged tomato sauce or paste. It is also very full of meat- ground beef in our case, though you could also use sausage, if that’s what your prefer. Other fresh ingredients like peppers, fresh herbs, garlic and onion also add delicious flavor.

Every now and then, I might play around with a different sauce, like this Roasted Tomato Sauce, but this one here is definitely my go-to and favorite. It also makes great left-overs, since the flavors have all that time to meld together even more.

Please note, too, that sauces are one of those things that might take different amounts of ingredients each time- and you can add more or less of something to make it better fit your tastes. But the amounts I’ve included here on the blog, are a good standard to start with. Add as you see fit for your family!

A homemade sauce is a labor of love. It does take more than 20 minutes to whip together. Allow at least an hour to let it simmer. And depending on where you are starting in the process with the tomatoes, allow another 30 minutes-1 hour to put it together.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Here’s what you need:

So Simple Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Sometimes good dishes are bumped up to really good by something as simple as a nice sauce to compliment it. I have become a big lover of honey-mustard in recent years. Growing up, ketchup was all I ever used- and I used it a lot! But, over time honey mustard has risen to the top of the list in many cases. I like that honey mustard only uses a few simple ingredients that I already have in the kitchen. Served with something like Chicken tenders or Pork chops– and you have a tasty duo!

Roasted Tomato Sauce and Meatballs on Spaghetti

How does Spaghetti with an absolutely homemade sauce (not even canned tomatoes!), made-from-scratch tender meatballs, on top of spaghetti with Parmesan cheese sound for dinner? Yum!

And if the taste wasn’t reason enough to prepare this dish, the aroma that will fill your house while the veggies are roasting in the oven is just intoxicating. Open your windows and soon the whole neighborhood will be over to see what’s cooking!

Here’s the overview:

Forget the store-bought stuff. (Who wants high fructose corn syrup in their sauce anyway?) This sauce is made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, and peppers- this would be a GREAT way to use summer produce from the garden! It is so simple and does not require a lot of time cooking on the stovetop in order to get good, deep flavors. By roasting the tomatoes and other veggies, the flavors become concentrated and deep in a short amount of time.- and the oven does all the work.