Having a teenager in the house means that I've always got to have something available that is quick and filling. Every once in awhile make a batch of this, freeze it in single serving sized containers, and when Kevin is hungry he can just boil some pasta and heat up the sauce.
The original recipe is from Anne Lindsay's The New Lighthearted Cookbook. I made a few changes, mainly adding some more veggies and switching the 28 oz can of diced tomatoes to crushed tomatoes. Using diced tomatoes made the sauce somewhat watery, which is my biggest pet peeve with home made pasta sauces. Feel free to play with the recipe a little bit, adding fresh herbs, your favorite vegetables, or interesting things like sun dried tomatoes and sausage instead of beef.
1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (5 1/2 oz) tomato paste
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes or a bottle of passata (if you use passata you won't need the tomato paste)
1 tsp honey
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
In a pan, saute the ground beef with the onion, celery, red pepper and garlic until the veggies are soft and the meat is no longer pink. Add all the other ingredients and bring to a bubble, then turn the heat to medium low and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Yep, that's it! Easy, huh?
Makes 6 cups of sauce
