Babzy's Spaghetti Sauce

Okay, well spaghetti is, (and always has been), my favorite food in the whole wide world. I absolutely love it every which way. This is my final, favorite recipe after years of trying different recipes and finally tweaking them all to my liking. I like it served with garlic bread and sprinkled with lots of parmesan cheese. This recipe has some optional ingredients that definately aren't needed, just added extras! I also use this as my base recipe for other pasta dishes (like lasagna or by replacing the ground meat with Italian sausage slices for a sausage and pepper penne, etc..)

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  lb ground beef or 1  lb ground pork or 1  lb ground turkey
• 1  onion, chopped
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  red bell pepper, chopped
• 1  carrot, grated
• 2 (5 1/2ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (680 ml) can tomato sauce
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fennel (I grind it up)
• 1  bay leaf (I grind it up)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I grind this up too)
• 2  teaspoons sugar
• 1  tablespoon basil
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons oregano
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 cup red wine or 1⁄2 cup white wine
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1⁄4 teaspoon thyme (optional)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon paprika (optional)
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (optional)
• 1⁄2 cup  pepperoni (optional) or 1⁄2 cup prosciutto (optional) or 1⁄2 cup pancetta (optional) or 1⁄2 cup crisp bacon, finely chopped (optional)

Directions

1. Cook the ground beef, onions and garlic until beef is cooked through, drain.
2. Add remaining ingredients, except for parmesan cheese and simmer for 1-3 hours, depending on your timeframe.
3. Add parmesan cheese to the sauce just before serving.
4. Serve over your favorite pasta noodles, I love Vermicelli. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese.