[Pink Pearl]

One of the things that limits a lot of people with celiac disease is that many commercial products have wheat flour or another derivative in spaghetti sauce/pizza sauce, lasagna sauce, etc.

I have never bought sauce, always made it from scratch. So, here is my family's basic recipe. You can alter it for pizza sauce, any other red sauce use, or whatever you want.

1 pound ground beef - if possible use the 7% fat or less.
1 yellow onion - diced
4 to 5 stalks celery, sliced thin

herbs to taste: oregano, marjoram, thyme - if coarse, grind them in a mortar and pestle
hold off salt at this point, pepper too

1 jumbo can crushed tomatoes in puree
1 large can tomato paste
2 cans mushrooms-drained or 1 pound mushrooms sliced

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saute onions and celery til translucent
add beef and brown it, break up into small pieces so it cooks evenly
**if you are using fresh mushrooms, add them in here to cook
**if using canned mushrooms, hold off

add herbs to taste. Start with small amounts and add til it smells "right" to you. This part is totally subjective.

add large can crushed tomatoes
and tomato paste

**mix thoroughly, add canned mushrooms

cover with the lid and put in a 275* oven and simmer for a couple hours. This will lose its bright red color and move into a darker red that has all flavors blended

Now, add salt and pepper to taste. You want the flavors to get right before you add too much salt.

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Cook spaghetti noodles per package directions and serve with sauce on the noodles or mix together and then serve
top with shredded parmesan cheese if desired

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You can add a can of creamed corn and small pitted black olives and use with penne pasta as a new taste.
Do not freeze olives....they get "squeaky" when you chew them.

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You can make a big batch of the spaghetti sauce and freeze in one meal portions. This is SO nice to have on hand when you are looking for a quick meal.
To thaw quickly, put in a sauce pan and turn burner to low. Stir frequently to prevent scorching, but it is very handy to have.
If you thaw in the microwave, stir frequently to avoid it getting hot spots.
You then can also use this with the corn and olives as a new flavor.

This makes a great meat sauce for lasagna and/or pizza.

Sally

 

[nicky00]

ummmmm. I love tomato sauce

I like mine with a lot of crushed and sauted garlic.
Some small diced sauted carrot ( makes the sauce change texture).
Small amount of sugar.

Sometimes add some courgettes, very smally ( IS SMALLY A NEW WORD?!:lol
chopped.
Think I was shown by my friends italian family how to make the similar lasagne sauce once and they put all the veggies in and cook them down to a pulp and call it 'sugo' ? .

Love olives and didnt know that if you froze them they squeak.

Love basil (fresh) ripped over the top.

Sometimes put a dash of chilli in as in puttanesca ( my favourite) .

Sometimes put a dash also of 'Lee & Perrins'.

Anything goes really once the basic ingredients are there, it depends on my mood.


Its really interesting to see what others put in.

Nicky

 

[Pink Pearl]

Hi Nicky,
You are right.....once you get the basics, you can go in so many directions. That was my point in putting this in here. So many people have never learned how to cook from scratch and with the economy the way it is....this gives an idea on how to create this for cheaper and better than any jar or can could be.

I was blessed to be the daughter of a woman who has never used many mixes or commercial sauces. For me, going to a celiac diet was inconvenient but not insurmountable. For those without the history of "scratch" cooks, they don't know how to do without the pre-made stuff. As you said, it will be interesting to see what else gets put in this.
Sally