SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH GROUND BEEF

Awhile ago I bought frozen lean beef patties from Costco.  Each portion is fair sized and since one doesn't have to only use these patties as hamburger, I thought of using a number of patties to make a big batch of spaghetti sauce.  The spaghetti sauce is more than just a meat sauce as I added a variety of vegetables to make the sauce.  I didn't make the sauce very spicy but more flavour can be added by adding dried red chilies flakes or other spices to give it more warmth.  Along with having this for supper, I froze several containers for future meals.

Browning the lean ground beef.

I added a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes and a 14 oz can of tomato sauce.

Chopping the onions in a small food chopper.

Adding the ingredients to the pot.

A container of sauce ready for the freezer.

Spaghetti sauce over a cup of spinach pasta.

INGREDIENTS:

1 to 1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium sized onions, chopped

2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cup of thinly sliced or chopped mushrooms

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 - 28 oz can of tomatoes

1 - 14 oz can of tomato sauce

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 to 1/2 cup of red wine (optional)

1 tsp of dried chili pepper flakes

2 large handfuls of fresh spinach

ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large pot, brown the beef on medium heat until the pink is gone from the meat.  Drain the meat and pour off any excess liquid or fat.  Set the meat aside in a bowl.  Add the olive oil to the pot and on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic until they start to become soft.  Don't brown them.  If they are starting to brown, turn the heat down. Add the celery, carrots and mushrooms and saute for about 4 minutes.  Add the remainder of the ingredients except for the pepper and spinach.  Simmer for at least an hour.  I simmered the sauce for 90 minutes.  Add pepper to taste and the spinach to the sauce.  Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.   Serve with pasta.  The sauce makes about 8 servings depending on how much sauce you like to add to the pasta.