Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce


I found this recipe online several years ago. It quickly became my favorite spaghetti sauce and is better than just plain canned and is quick and easy to whip up. The recipe calls for 2 pounds of ground beef, but I've used 1 pound with great results.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

2 pounds ground round (or 1 lb. ground beef + 1 lb. ground Italian Sausage)
1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, cut up (I put them in the blender)
6 ounces V-8 juice
1 (16 ounce) jar Prego Traditional spaghetti sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix (I use 1/2 pkg.)
1/2 cup grape jelly (I use about 3/4 cup)

In a large skillet, brown meat until pink color disappears.* Drain off liquid and crumble with fork or potato masher. Stir in tomatoes, V-9 juice, Prego, soup mix and grape jelly. Bring mixture to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 15-20 mins or until piping hot and to the desired thickness of sauce you like.

Yields enough sauce for 6 to 8 servings.

*I prefer to boil my ground beef. To do this, put about an inch or so of water in your skillet. Add ground beef and crumble. I also like to add about 1/4 of an onion, chopped, pepper, salt, and a bit of garlic powder. Bring to a boil and continue to break meat into small chunks. Boil on low heat until meat is done. Drain off water and rinse meat in a colander to further remove any excess grease. Place back into skillet and proceed with recipe.