I like to make this delicious sauce meatless or with ground turkey to make it healthier. It is the best with home-canned tomatoes, but also wonderful with whole tomatoes or Italian style diced tomatoes.
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onion
1 lb. beef (optional: 1 lb. ground turkey or make meatless)
2 cloves minced garlic
3 (14.5 ounce) cans of whole/diced tomatoes (or Italian Style Diced Tomatoes)
6 oz. tomato paste
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups water (optional)
Brown onions, beef, and garlic. Drain off fat. (Sometimes I am guilty of also rinsing the cooked meat to get more grease off.)
Put meat mixture in large pot and add all other ingredients. Let simmer 1-3 hours depending on desired thickness. If you are making this in a hurry omit the 2 cups of water. If you decide to cook this longer than expected just add more water.
As this simmers I stir it occasionally and mash the sauce with a potato masher so that it is creamier since my children don't like chunky tomatoes in their sauce.
