Meaty Spaghetti Sauce

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Ahhh... home cooked meals. Traditional goodness passed down from generation to generation. This was the spaghetti sauce I ate growing up. It's thick and chunky, and full of amazing flavor. After trying this, you'll never go back to canned sauce again!

You'll notice that the recipe allows for a few hours of simmering time. This is to get the best taste out of the herbs. Your house will also smell amazing! However, this spaghetti sauce is amazing after a short cooking time as well. Brown the beef, drain, and cook everything together for 30 minutes or so. Serve over hot noodles with warm bread and a salad!

Meaty Spaghetti Sauce
The Double Dipped Life


1 lb Ground Beef
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 teas salt
1/4 teas pepper
1 TB Basil
1/4 teas minced garlic
2 TB chopped (or dried) parsley
1 bay leaf
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
spaghetti noodles
Parmesan or mozzarella cheese

Brown meat, drain fat. In the same pan, add in onion, celery, and mushrooms. Cook until soft.
Add browned meat and remaining ingredients and simmer 2-3 hours until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally. Add water if too thick.

Serve over hot noodles! Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and/or mozzarella cheese.
Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Jalapeno Sauce on Sirloin Tips

I recently purchased a new cookbook with authentic Mexican recipes.  Very excited about this book, I decided to start with the Roasted Tomato Jalapeno sauce. One of the serving ideas was to serve in on top of Sirloin. Well, I'm okay with that!

The sauce is spicy with 2 whole jalapenos, and fresh with the taste of tomatoes. You can substitute canned tomatoes, but I don't think you'd get the freshness that way.



Roasted Tomato Jalapeno Sauce on Sirloin Tips 
Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine


1 pound tomatoes (2 large or 3-4 small tomatoes)
1-2 jalapenos, whole
2 Tb oil
1 small white onion, chopped finely
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (This is my addition- the sauce needed a little more taste)
1 - 1 1/2 cups chicken or beef broth (If serving over sirloin, use the beef broth)
1 lb Sirloin, cut into bite sized pieces
Rice 
Cilantro

Grease a cookie sheet, and turn your oven broiler on to high. Wash tomatoes and jalapenos. Place them on the cookie sheet and put about 4 inches under the broiler. Roast for roughly 6 minutes, until the tomato skins bubble and blacken.  Turn over with tongs, and roast another 5-6 minutes until the other side is blackened as well. (I pulled the jalapeno's out after the first round of roasting).  Place the veggies in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to cool.

In the meantime, heat 2 Tb oil in a large saucepan.  When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic, and saute for 8-10 minutes until soft.

Peel the tomatoes. Chop tomatoes and jalapenos finely, saving the juice. Place the chopped veggies and juice, including the cooked onions and garlic,  into a food processor or blender. Blend just a little to get big chunks, or process until smooth to use as enchilada sauce.  For this recipe, I left it chunky.  Turn the saucepan up to medium-high. When hot, pour in the sauce, and allow to cook until it's darkened and slightly thicker.  Stir often.

Cook your rice. 

In the meantime, start cooking the sirloin in another pan. Cook until brown. Add in half the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens more, and the meat is cooked through.

Serve the meat mixture over rice.  We added the extra sauce over the top to get more flavor.  Sprinkle with Cilantro and serve warm.

Enjoy!