Dang Good Spaghetti Sauce

As we enter into the first couple of days of true social distancing  and quarantine I’m making a concentrated effort to look for the silver lining in the heaviness of these wild days. 

I bought a dozen bright orange tulips at the grocery store when I was out and about last weekend. I knew they would cheer me up as we hunker down this week and I wasn’t wrong. 

I’ve had my favorite Rooted In Candle Co candle going almost non-stop and the kids and I made multiple lists for how to conquer the next few weeks. We have a list of things to do when we feel bored. We made a list of books to read and another list of things to bake and create. I bought new colored pencils and markers on Amazon and a box of 30 pre-sharpened pencils. I figure you can never have too many pencils. 

Our first few days have been sweet and a little tender. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve also included arguing, eye-rolling, more than a few ‘it’s not fair’ and one self-induced timeout for mom who was in need of a break stat. But I appreciate we get this unplanned break. I’m grateful for flexible work and a schedule that allows me to be home with my kids. Who knows if I’ll still be saying that in a few weeks, but for now, it truly feels like a gift. 

And one last thought before we talk food because I definitely want to talk recipes. I’ve spent my fair share of time online the last week or so reading about COVID-19 and what’s going on around the world. I scrolled Facebook and my news feeds a little obsessively there for a while, equal parts curious and shocked as each new announcement or declaration was made. 

But what is catching my attention more and more is the way people are looking to help and support each other. I see offers of childcare or errand running. Friends, colleagues and acquaintances urging each other to support local businesses, make sack lunches for kids out of school, or gathering donations and supplies for people in need. I love seeing pictures of families hunkering down together, playing games, hanging out, taking walks in the sunshine. There are so many moments full of silver linings when we look for them and I’m determined to catch as many as I possibly can.

And that leads me to dinner. Some of us stocked up on frozen pizza and bags of potatoes when we were out madly searching for toilet paper in the last two weeks. But now it’s actually here; we have to make dinner. And I can help with that. 

This week we’re making a big pot of spaghetti sauce. This is the perfect recipe to ease into cooking because it requires a bit of chopping and sautéing to get you grooving in your kitchen but also relies mostly on pantry staples like jarred marinara and canned tomatoes so its easy to throw together, even last minute. This recipe is endlessly adaptable so skip or add different veggies to your liking. A few hours in the oven or throw it in your crockpot and walk away but come dinnertime, your house is going to smell amazing and dinner will taste even better.

Dang Good Spaghetti Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pound ground mild Italian pork sausage

• 1 medium sweet onion diced

• 3 cloves garlic minced

• 1 large carrot grated

• 1 medium zucchini grated

• 2 5-ounce containers mushrooms of choice (white, shitake, portobello, button)

• 1 28-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes

• 2 24-ounce jars low-sugar marinara sauce

• 2 heaping tablespoons pesto (or frozen basil cubes)

• 1 cup red wine OR 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt divided

• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 shakes red pepper flakes

In a large dutch oven, over medium-low heat, add olive oil to the pot and brown the meat, breaking it into small pieces and stirring until meat is browned on both sides. Remove meat from the pot onto a paper-towel lined plate and set aside. 

Move pot back to the burner and turn heat to low. Sauté the onion, carrot and zucchini for about five minutes, stirring often. Add an extra tablespoon of olive oil if needed, but likely won’t be necessary. Add the garlic to the pot and salt and pepper the vegetables. Add the mushrooms and continue to stir occasionally until the mushrooms have reduced in size by about one-third.

Add the canned tomatoes to the pot. Simmer the vegetable mixture for about 10 minutes or until the liquid starts to cook down. Add the two jars of sauce, red wine, sugar, Italian seasoning, basil and red pepper flakes. Remember to salt and pepper the entire pot of sauce again.

Place the lid on the pot and cook in a 250 degree oven for two to three hours. To serve, remove pot from the oven and ladle sauce over noodles of choice. The longer this sauce cooks, the better it tastes! 

You can also make this recipe in a crockpot. Sauté vegetables first in a pan. Then combine ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for at least four hours.

Serves eight 1-cup portions