Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Meat

Every time I travel, it takes me days and days to get back into a routine at home. L and I went to Michigan two weeks ago, so that I could spend a week in my company’s Grand Rapids office and then attend my 20th (yikes!) high school reunion in Detroit. L, who’s now 15 months old and in the throes of separation anxiety, had a terrible time.

E and I debated in the weeks leading up to the trip about whether it would be better to leave her at home in her comfort zone, cared for by him, our nephew (who is our part-time babysitter) and our sister-in-law (who is basically L’s favorite person on the planet); or if it would be better for me to take her along, so that she would only be separated from me for five work days instead of eight full days and nights, and left in the care of another doting aunt whom she only sees once every three months. It was a tough call, but it seemed that being separated from me might be the worse of the two options. So I took her with me. It was a disaster that included tantrums, emotional vomiting, panic attacks in the dead of night, and so on. But we did survive. We flew out on Sunday morning two weeks ago and flew home last Monday morning, arriving five minutes before I had a conference call scheduled for work. And it went from there – one thing on top of another – for the rest of the week. Laundry, grocery shopping, unpacking (still not completely finished), cleaning and reassembling the house (read: putting my bookshelves back in order) as a result of the re-carpeting that went on while we were gone (our apartment flooded three days before we left, thanks to a toilet malfunction). You get the picture.

I’m starting to think the lesson I’m meant to learn this year is that there is no such thing as a routine you can count on. The minute you settle into one, it gets disrupted. That’s just how life is when you have kids and a job and anything can go wrong at any moment, like your toddler breaking a bottle of bright pink nail polish while standing in the very center of the new carpet, which happened the day after we got home from Michigan. Just shoot me.

For reasons you can now imagine, I’ve been winging dinner around here for a week. No meal plan, just my standbys. The night we got home, it was spaghetti. Because I always, always have the makings of spaghetti in the pantry and freezer. L, who’s becoming more and more picky lately, was suddenly not a fan of the spaghetti noodle texture, but she happily ate some sauce with a spoon. It’s that good.

That recent Spaghetti Night, coupled with a desperate text from one of my colleagues (who is drowning in the overlap between her part-time job and the extracurricular schedules of three kids) begging me to save her before she buys another dozen doughnuts or package of hot dogs, prompted me to realize I ought to give you my go-to recipe for spaghetti sauce. It has saved me from the fast food drive-thru many times.

It honestly takes less than half an hour to put this sauce together (get the water going for your pasta at the same time you start the sauce – just let it boil until you’re ready to add the noodles). Add a simple salad, and you have a dinner that will make just about anyone happy.

I use this sauce in lasagna and over stuffed shells. It also makes a great baked pasta sauce – just toss with cooked noodles in a casserole dish, throw some mozzarella cheese on top, and bake at 350° until the cheese is browned and bubbly. I also like to double the recipe and throw half in the freezer (just seal it up in a zippered plastic bag, making sure to get all the air out) for emergency dinners.

Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Meat

1 pound ground meat – you can use lean beef, turkey, or venison, whatever you prefer
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 heaping tablespoon dried Italian seasoning (or 1 teaspoon each of basil and oregano, plus 1/2 teaspoon each of marjoram and thyme)
2 15-ounce cans plain tomato sauce
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 tablespoons sugar (I always use evaporated cane juice or raw sugar)
1/2-1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more if needed, to taste)

1/2 cup red wine

In a large pot (I like to make this in my Le Creuset Dutch oven – I’m addicted to that pot) or a deep skillet, brown the meat over medium-high heat with the onion, garlic, and herbs until the meat is fully cooked and the onion is tender and translucent. Drain off any excess fat.

Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste, and continue to cook, stirring, until the mixture starts to bubble. Reduce heat to a simmer (medium-low). Stir in the wine.

Continue to cook, stirring often, until the sauce begins to thicken and come together, about 20 minutes. The diced tomatoes will begin to break down, but there should still be chunks.

Taste, and if the sauce is a bit acidic (it probably will be) stir in the sugar, just one tablespoonful first, along with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add more sugar and/or salt as you like. It’s important to add the sugar and salt together, as they work together to give the proper balance to the tomatoes.

Serve over pasta with a sprinkling of grated parmesan.

Serves 6-8 people, depending on how big and how hungry they are. Can easily be doubled. Freezes well.

Here’s the printable recipe. Enjoy!