I got this recipe from Grandpa Phil, who got it from his mom, Great-Grandma Shirley, who got it from her mother-in-law on the Italian side of the family … it’s at least five generations old and seriously the best sauce I’ve ever had.
- 29 oz can Hunt’s tomato sauce
- 36 oz Contadina tomato paste (two 18-oz cans or 3 12-oz cans)
- 1 lb meat (combination of ground beef, sweet Italian sausage, spicy sausage, ground turkey, even leftover pot roast or brats diced up)
- 3 TB garlic powder
- 2 TB Italian seasoning
- 1 TB black pepper
- water
Brown the meat in a large pot. Leave the grease in the pot!! Trust me! It’s where all the flavor is.
Add 1 can of tomato paste to the pot with meat. Fill the can with water. Add and stir for a minute or two until it is relatively combined. Repeat with other cans of paste and then with the large can of tomato sauce, adding that same can full of water each time. Stir so there are no clumps of tomato paste. Add the seasonings and stir well. If you have any pre-cooked, leftover meat, add that now. This should be on the thin/water-y side. It will thicken as it cooks.
Let simmer on the stove on low for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
Eat some the first night with pasta or, if we are being honest, just dip bread in the pot until you can’t possibly eat another bite. Once it cools, put in a ziploc bags and stash in the freezer.
Buon appetito!