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  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound italian sausage
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2-3 (depending on the size) red, orange or yellow peppers, diced
  • 6-8 large mushrooms, sliced thin
  • 3 stalks celery, sliced thin
  • 4 cloves of garlic, pressed or diced
  • 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 cans tomato sauce
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1 bay leaf, broken in half
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups roughly chopped fresh spinach
  • salt to taste (at least 1 teaspoon)

I have made A LOT of spaghetti sauce from scratch, but this version gets first place hands down.  Who needs to turn to a jar when you can make something this good?

While I was cooking I didn’t measure (of course) so all measurements are approximate, add more or less depending on your tastes.  This makes a lot of sauce, so either serve it for a crowd or freeze half to use one of those times when there is no time to make dinner! (I LOVE having a healthy dinner in the freezer, perfect for “just one of those days”!)

Spaghetti Sauce for a Crowd

In a large sauce pan or dutch oven heated to medium high brown meats, braking them up into small pieces.  Turn down to medium and add onion, peppers, celery and mushrooms, saute 5-8 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.

Mix in Italian seasoning, red pepper flaked and garlic powder, mix into meat and veggie mixture, cooking for 1 minute.

Stir in tomato sauces, paste and diced tomatoes.  Add bay leaf, pepper, and spinach.  Cover and cook for at least 1 hour on low (longer is fine too!.)  Add salt to taste before serving, adding more Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes if desired.