Steph's Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti night is a favorite in many households including ours. This recipe is my go-to spaghetti sauce recipe. I've been making it this way for years. I add lots of veggies to my sauce because I like the flavor it gives the sauce, it makes it pretty with all the different colors, and it makes it healthier. If you have a favorite family sauce, make it in a large quantity and freeze it. I've had several friends ask me how I make my sauce, so here it is...

Ingredients
3 pounds ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage
2 bell peppers, any color, diced
2 pounds sliced mushrooms
2 large carrots, diced very small
2 yellow onions, diced
4 - 5 garlic cloves, minced
2 - 3 zucchini, diced small
2 - 3 yellow squash, diced small
2 large (66 oz.) jars of traditional spaghetti sauce
2 tablespoons butter
Italian seasoning, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

  

Directions

1. Write on 4 two gallon bags: Steph's Spaghetti Sauce, the date, and the following instructions: Cook on low for 4 - 6 hours or heat on the stove until veggies are cooked. (You could easily leave this on low in your slow cooker for longer)
2. Over medium-high heat, saute mushrooms in butter in a saucepan on the stove. I do this in one pound portions - mostly because of Julie Child and the movie Julie & Julia: "Don't crowd the mushrooms!" Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside to cool.
3. Brown meat with onion, garlic and seasonings. I also do this in one pound portions. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside to cool.
4. Dice vegetables and distribute between the bags. 
5. Distribute sauce between the bags.
6. Press the air out of the bags and seal them shut. Lay them flat in your freezer.

Serving Ideas

• Serve sauce over your pasta of choice. Garnish with shredded parmesan cheese
• Use it to make lasagna, baked ziti or serve over raviolis
• Make Million Dollar Spaghetti - It's so good!
• Use leftover sauce to make a sort of minestrone soup. What? Yes! Add chicken broth or water, green beans, white beans and small pasta - Boom! You've got soup!

Usually I will serve the sauce over pasta the first night and use the leftover sauce to make Million Dollar Spaghetti or our version of minestrone soup. I'm not good at eating leftovers, so I always try to reinvent them into something else.