I have used this for years. I have played around with it a little and found that a teaspoon of sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes. And if you want to make it taste a little richer, stir in a quarter cup of cream before serving. Also, I drain grease off the beef before adding any vegetables, that way you aren't pouring out all your garlic/onion flavour!
Easy, painless, and tastes good. I will def use as a base recipe again. Maybe it's in the asian in me that likes to marinate everything... but if you marinate the beef in 2 tb of soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce and a 1/4 of salt for 15 minutes before sauteing...it adds a world of difference to the flavor in the beef. It no longer just just tastes like tomato sauce drenched in flavorless meat. Also add salt and pepper to the meat (to taste) while sauteing with the onions and garlic and peppers before adding to the sauce.
I love this recipe and it has become my favorite with a couple of small changes. I like my sauce more creamy with the tomatoes less chunky, so I use "crushed" instead of diced tomatoes. I love mushrooms, so I also add a 7 ounce jar (drained) of button mushrooms (usually Pennsylvania Dutchman available at my regular grocery). The button type mushrooms are good because they are easy to see in the sauce and can be left off the spoon for those eaters who don't like them.
This recipe was very easy and tasty. It's a really hearty sauce and next time I'll add sauteed mushrooms. I'll certainly make it again!!
Great recipe! I looked through the reviews as I always do because I get a kick out of some of them. I saw one that said "I used this instead of this and didn't use as much of this and it seemed to be missing something". I'm all for improving a recipe if it needs it but don't change the recipe and then leave a review that reflects something completely different than you're reviewing.
We used this recipe for a benefit where we fed over 400 people, everyone enjoyed it. We increased the ingredients by 500, did the math, added a little more beef than what it called for, but it turned out great and was fairly easy to do. If I am crazy enough to do another benefit, we will use this recipe.
Great basic recipe. I also add a bay leaf, and 1/8 to 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese. An old italian woman taught my mom to add the grated parmesan, it really adds flavor, depth, richness and thickens it.
Five stars for a quick, easy, delicious recipe! I DID use 1 1/2 lbs beef and a large can (29oz) of diced tomatoes (I wanted a little extra sauce), but those were the only changes. Thanks to Hank's mom!
I absolutely loved this spaghetti sauce and so did my father and brother. I used "Italian Seasoning", but other than that, I didn't have to substitute anything.
