Thick & Hearty Meat Sauce

I love a fantastic thick and chunky meat sauce. I love when sauce has TONS of meat AND veggies and it's more "stuff" than sauce. MMMMMM...that's THE BEST! Thick and chunky sauce is great for my boys because it's not messy like a runny saucy-sauce and they fill up on protein and veggies. :) Good stuff for sure!

I don't make spaghetti often, but when I do, my boys are STOKED! They LOVE spaghetti and meat sauce and think it's such a treat when I make it for them. The sauce is great over breaded chicken for a quick chicken parmesan, on a piece of bread with toppings for an easy "pizza bread" snack or over sauteed veggies. I could eat the chunky sauce on its own. YUM YUM! 

I've made sauce a few times and I made this version with canned tomatoes this time around to make things easier. This sauce is fast, easy and delicious! No photo opp for this spectacular sauce as it was so good it got eaten up before I could take a pic. :)

Thick & Hearty Meat Sauce

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1- 28 oz can peeled crushed tomatoes in puree
• 2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 tbs garlic, minced (We LOVE garlic so I use 2 tbs.) 
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tbs sugar (counteracts acidity from canned tomatoes)
• 1/2 c red wine
• 1 c beef stock if you like a saucier-sauce.
• 1 lb ground mild Italian sausage (if using links, remove casing and then cook like ground beef)
• add sauteed veggies if desired (I added a zucchini, squash, onion and garlic mixture.)
• parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over med heat. Add garlic, bay leaf, onions and saute for 3-4 mins.
2. Add tomatoes and herbs to garlic mixture. Stir occasionally until sauce thickens slightly. 
3. Add sugar and wine, stir well and simmer 1-12 hrs. Simmer as long as possible for best flavor. I usually make a 2 hr sauce and it tastes great. 
4. In separate pan, cook sausage thoroughly. To remove excess oil when sausage is fully cooked, place wire rack on plate, cover rack with paper towels and then scoop cooked sausage onto paper towels. Bring up sides of paper towels over sausage and press sausage to squeeze out oil. Add to sauce and simmer some more.
5. If adding veggies, saute veggies first and then add to sauce. Let it simmer some more. ENJOY!