3 generous tablespoons of olive oil
3 medium onions, chopped
5-8 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 pounds ground meat (I use 1 pound each of ground turkey, sweet Italian chicken sausage, and hot Italian chicken sausage.)
3/8 cup dried basil
1/4 cup dried oregano
30 ounces canned tomato sauce (I use two 15 ounce cans.)
30 ounces canned tomato paste (I use two 12 ounce cans and one 6 ounce can.)
15 ounces water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper
In a large pot over medium heat, add onions to olive oil and stir until evenly coated. Add ground meat, garlic, basil, and oregano. (If you use link sausage, remove meat from casing first by running a sharp knife longways along link.) Break up meat into small pieces and cook thoroughly.
Add tomato paste and sauce. Fill one of the 15 ounce cans with hot tap water. Use that water to swirl around in the cans to get all the tomato sauce and paste, then add this tomato-water to the pot. Stir thoroughly. Your red sauce should have a nice consistency, kind of on the thick side.
Using my amounts as guidelines, add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. The sugar will cut the acidity of the tomatoes to give your sauce a nice flavor.
Ladle sauce over prepared pasta and garnish with grated cheeses if desired. Serve immediately.
Enjoy!
* This recipe makes a large batch, which is convenient because it freezes so nicely. To freeze leftover sauce, put it in freezer bags and lay flat on a baking pan until frozen. When ready to use, loosen the freezer bag by running it under hot tap water. Then cut the bag to remove the frozen block of sauce, and place in large pan on low heat to thaw. Stir and turn frequently until heated through.