So, I cheated tonight. Instead of going through my usual spaghetti meat sauce recipe, for the first time in years I brought home some bottled spaghetti sauce from the store. Specifically, Prego's Tomato, Onion, & Garlic. Now I remember why I usually use plain tomato sauce/paste and not some bottled brand. Holy mackerel is that stuff sweet.
Not that it was awful stuff, it's just that the sweetness of it seemed a bit overwhelming compared to what I usually cook. And no wonder. A look at the label almost floored me. There's 10 grams of sugars in each 1/2 cup serving. It's not actually apples to apples, but keep in mind that one teaspoon of granulated sugar is 4 grams. Even diluted by two pounds of browned ground beef and a 6 oz. can of tomato paste it was far too sweet than I prefer. By comparison, when I cook up a similarly sized batch of meat sauce I might add one, maybe two teaspoons of sugar(if I add any at all).
Are all of these bottled spaghetti sauces that way today? I'm interested in opinions because I'm certainly not going to check them all out myself. Next time at the store I'll read a few labels, but if anybody wants to put in their two cents I'll be happy to listen.
For the record, my basic spaghetti meat sauce recipe:
- 2 lbs. ground beef or 1 lb. each ground beef and pork sausage
- One 29 oz. can of plain tomato sauce
- One 6 oz. can of plain tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium or large white onion, chopped
- 1/2 large green pepper, chopped.
- 6-8 oz. of fresh white mushrooms, chopped
- 1-3 cloves of garlic, depending on taste
- Italian seasoning, or individual herbs and spices to taste.
- One or two tsp. of granulated white sugar.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and then add the chopped onion, green pepper, and mushrooms. Press in garlic cloves to taste. I usually use two, but some prefer more or less. Saute everything over medium heat. The goal is to soften and reduce the vegetables and even get some browning and caramelizing, but not too much.
Once you have the veggies going, brown the ground beef/pork in a large skillet/saucepan(large enough to combine everything). When I use pork sausage I start the pork first to ensure it gets fully cooked and finely textured. Do the same for the ground beef. Leave a little fat in the pan, but drain or spoon most of it out.
When the meat is browned, add the tomato sauce and then the tomato paste. Stir well. When the veggies are ready, pour the entire contents of the pan into the meat/tomato sauce. Stir well.
Add the Italian seasoning or other herbs as well as the sugar to taste. Stir well and slow simmer for 30 minutes or so, covering or leaving open, or adding water as needed to reach your preferred moisture level. Another option is to let it all slow cook on low for a few hours in a crock pot.
Enjoy!
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