Mike's Italian Grandma's Pasta Sauce

Mina the Brat's Note:

My husband learned this from a sweet Italian Grandma from Palermo while they were on a train together in Germany. She had married a German soldier during the war, and now that he had passed she was bringing him to his family for the first time since he had left as a young soldier. Note: Cooking time only includes prep time as simmering varies according to method.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 8 1 cup s ...

• 64 ounces tomato sauce, plain or pre-seasoned
• 4 teaspoons oregano
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic or 6 garlic cloves
• 1 lb Italian sausage, browned
• 1 lb ground beef, browned
• 1 cup red wine
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Brown your meat and drain off the excess fat. Add all the ingredients together. My hubby likes to put this all in the crock pot and slowcook it for about 6 hours. You could also simmer it stovetop for maybe an hour or so if you're in a hurry. Delicious. We serve this with tortellini or spaghetti and our pickiest kids can't get enough. They also request bread to sop up the extra.
2. Note: Of course you can used canned tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato puree or even fresh. Just cook longer and add a pinch of sugar.

Reviews

[Muffin Goddess]

Made for PAC Spring 2007 -- Loved this sauce! I tend to gravitate towards veggie-based sauces moreso than meat-based ones, but this is a meat sauce that I'd definitely make again. I really liked that it wasn't terribly involved to make (nice for mornings when I'm trying to make dinner before I leave for work). I used 5 8oz cans of tomato sauce along with one large can of whole basil-flavored plum tomatoes. For the meats, I defrosted some cheese-and-garlic flavored Italian sausage and some 90% ground sirloin. I used Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon for the wine. The added bonus of making this was that it consisted entirely of ingredients that I already had on hand (no shopping involved). I didn't trust my family to remember to turn off the crockpot in 6 hours, so I just simmered it on the stovetop for 1.5 hours while I was doing all my before-work stuff (don't be amazed, I work second shift lol). All in all, a great sauce with my family's beloved cheese tortellini (not a beloved family recipe, my family just loves packaged cheese tortellini). Thanks for posting!