Mom’s Spaghetti
Recipe inspired by my Mom, Betty, who has always made sure I had a few bowls of this in my freezer since I moved away 12 years ago.
Ingredients
(Serves a lot, like 8-10 servings)
2lb ground beef
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 white onion, diced
Seasonings: freshly ground pepper, salt, oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary (2 tsp or so of each)
1 jalapeno diced (removing seeds optional)
1 pepper diced
100g cremini mushrooms sliced
A bit of olive oil for cooking the vegetables, like a few tablespoons probably
26oz can of diced tomatoes (I like the Italian Seasoned ones)
1-2 jars tomato sauce (depends how chunky you like it)
1/2 pack of onion soup mix
Spaghetti (150-200g per person), should be enough sauce for 8-10 people… or meal prep for a week
Instructions
In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, cook half the garlic and half the onion until the onion starts to turn transparent (3-5 minutes)
Once the onion is cooked add the ground beef and half your seasonings. Cook until browned
Move the ground beef to a bowl. Use one of those holey spoons so the grease drains and stays in the sauce pan. If there’s too much grease left in the sauce pan, scoop some of it out with a non-holey spoon but leave enough in to cook the vegetables
Add all of the chopped vegetables (rest of the garlic and onion, jalapeno, pepper, and mushroom) to the saucepan and drizzle with a bit of olive oil
Add the rest of your seasonings. Cook on medium-high heat for ~5 minutes or until onions are turning transparent and the mushrooms have browned nicely
Add the can of diced tomatoes. It’s up to you if you want to drain the juices before adding, I do because I don’t have the patience to boil down all that liquid. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes
Put the beef you set aside back into the sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has boiled down. This should give the beef plenty of time to absorb the flavors—it is important to make sure you let this boil until most of the liquid is gone or else the sauce will be watery
While you’re letting that cook, now is a good time to start boiling your spaghetti. Be sure to generously salt the water :) Cook to your preferred doneness and save some of that pasta water! If it looks like your sauce still requires some time to cook, coat your pasta in a few tablespoons of olive oil so that it doesn’t dry out and/or stick together
Once your beef and veggie mixture has been cooked down, add the tomato sauce and 1/2 a pack of onion soup mix. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 more minutes. At this point, it’s ready to serve but you can always cook it longer. If you’re looking for a bit more creaminess to the sauce then add a few scoops of the pasta water and let boil for a few minutes. I find it helps the sauce stick to the pasta better
Dish and serve! I love to add red pepper flakes and parmesan :)