I was recently typing up a new blog post about our Freezer Meal Lasagnas that We Three Amigos made in September for our deep freezes, and tried to link my recipe for awesome spaghetti sauce to the post…when I couldn’t find it. I could hardly believe it; I haven’t yet posted a recipe on my spaghetti sauce!

Boo, bad me.

So, there’s nothing to do for it but to sit down and write a recipe post on the spot on how to make this wondrous, delicious, amazing tomato-based spaghetti sauce that I’ve made so many times over the years, I don’t even have a written recipe for it; I just make it up out of my head. My sincere apologies to all of you who haven’t yet had the opportunity to savour this creamy, rich, deeply satisfying spaghetti sauce; don’t waste a minute and make this recipe immediately. Your tummy will thank you!

Alicia’s Amazing Spaghetti Sauce

Note: this recipe can totally be made vegetarian or even vegan if that floats your boat; just omit the cheese, replace the ground beef with soy-based meat crumbles, and Worcestershire sauce with a vegan alternative.

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 yellow or orange pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning (or equal amounts dried basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme), divided
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 – 28 oz. tins diced tomatoes
• 1 – 28 oz. tin crushed tomatoes
• 1 small tin tomato paste
• 4 nuggets frozen chopped spinach (about 1/2 cup) – optional
• 1 tsp hot sauce (or to taste)
• Salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated hard cheese (such as Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

1. Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron or non-stick frying pan at medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook, stirring to prevent burning, for 3 minutes or until translucent. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and diced peppers and cook for a minute longer. Add ground beef to vegetable mixture, along with 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and black pepper. Combine all together well and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, add all tins of tomatoes and paste and the frozen spinach, along with remaining garlic and Italian seasoning to large heavy-bottomed stockpot; stir and heat on medium until steaming, Add meat mixture (if there is a lot of rendered fat in the meat mixture, drain first before adding to tomatoes).
3. Stir mixture and bring to a simmer; add hot sauce and salt to taste and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Add cheese and stir through. Add brown sugar (this cuts the acidity of the tomatoes), and simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
4. Just prior to serving, add lemon juice (this brightens flavours that have been cooking a long time), and stir thoroughly. Serve hot.