Mom’s Out of This World Meat Sauce
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 14-16
 
Ingredients
  • 3 pounds ground beef
  • 2 packages Italian sausage (hot and sweet)
  • 5 ribs celery
  • 2 bell peppers (or substitute Anaheims)
  • 1 onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 – 29 oz. cans tomato sauce
  • 2 – 6 oz. cans tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)
  • ½ cup fresh basil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
  • 2 Bay leaves
Instructions
  1. Brown the ground beef and sausage with the celery, pepper, onion and garlic. Drain any fat. Add this mixture and all remaining ingredients to a large pot and simmer for at least 15 minutes.
  2. My mom usually makes this the day before serving so that the sauce thickens and the flavors saturate overnight. At the very least, she starts the sauce early in the day and allows it to simmer all day.
Notes
Easily feeds 14-16. Cut in half it provides 7-8 servings.

This quantity feeds an army. That’s because mom and I both always make enough sauce to freeze half of it for a second meal — be it spaghetti or lasagna or ziti. For a single meal, cut the quantities in half.
Recipe by The Taste Place at https://www.thetasteplace.com/moms-out-of-this-world-meat-sauce/