Secret Spaghetti Sauce

Old Family Recipe - Spaghetti Sauce
Written by my mom - Julie

     Paul & I (Julie) met in 1970 at Olympic Jr. College, in Bremerton, Washington.  A year, maybe a year and a half later, we are talking about spaghetti his favorite food.  Paul explained how his Aunt and Uncle would fix this for him when he went to visit them and how much he liked it.  He also said that his family (I assume Peggie & George) had an old family recipe for Spaghetti that took all day to cook. It had a lot of special spices and tasted great.
     We married in June of 1972.  We as many newly married couples were on a budget and needed to watch pennies.  I fixed a lot of low cost recipes for dinners but spaghetti was not one of the meals.  Once in a while Paul would ask if I would fix spaghetti, and I told him he should fix it because he knew the recipe. This went on for several years.
     Around seven to ten years later, Paul asked again if I would fix spaghetti.  He was rather hurt, I knew that it was his favorite food and I had refused to fix the meal.  I again mentioned he knew the old family recipe, and I would be happy for him to fix it.
"What old family recipe?" I retorted, "the one that has been in your family for years and takes all day to fix!"
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you mean what am I talking about.  You told me years ago that you had a special old family recipe for fixing spaghetti, that took all day to cook."
"I did? We never had any old family recipe for spaghetti."
"What?"
"I don't remember telling you that, is that why you never fix me spaghetti?"
"Yes"
"Well, why don't you find a recipe for spaghetti sauce that has a lot of spices and takes a long time to cook?"
     Actually now our budget could handle the extra spices, and I thought I remembered a recipe that I had found in "Spices of the World" by McCormick for a great sounding spaghetti sauce.  So I fixed it either the next day or by the weekend.  Paul loves it!
And ever since, we laughingly call it our "Old Family Recipe for Spaghetti Sauce."

Julie

This was written to be included in a family cookbook that my sister and I were working on, but my father did not want her to share the story.  She decided not to share it, but I am, not for the story itself but because it was from my mom. She died Dec 11, 2004 of congestive heart failure.  I love her and I miss her.

Here is the recipe as it ended up, changes were made from the original recipe, and I've made some since then.  My sister has also made changes to her version of the spaghetti sauce as well.  I do add more spices and things than are listed here, but I'll keep those as my secret.  I have made some notes of swaps, but I have not included the additional items that I now add.

Secret Spaghetti Sauce


1 1/2 pds hamburger meat - I use lean turkey meat most of the time, or a very lean hamburger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sugar - I use 1 packet of stevia
1/4 crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp season all
1/4 MSG - I never add this
2 bay leaves
1 tbls oregano
1 tbls basil
1 tbls parsley
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp (secret ingredient)
1 tbls Italian seasoning
4 6 ounce cans tomato paste
2 quarts water or 8 C's water

1 C red wine (optional)
1 C sliced olives
2 4 ounce cans mushrooms - I use fresh mushrooms that I've cooked
spaghetti
Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook hamburger meat with the seasonings from the garlic powder to the msg (which I omit) when meat is cooked add it into a huge stock pot with the remaining ingredients minus the spaghetti or grated parmesan cheese. Cover tightly and simmer 2 hours longer, stirring occasionally. Remove cover and continue cooking until sauce thickens to desired consistency, scoop out the 2 bay leaves throw away. Cook spaghetti following directions on pkg, allowing 1 pound for 4 servings. Ladle sauce over spaghetti. Top with grated cheese and serve.
Makes about 3 1/2 quarts sauce enough for 4 pounds spaghetti, since you may not need such a large quantity of sauce you can freeze it for several months. 

Julie, Grandma Peggie, and Aunt Bessie

 No pictures of food this time, but the spaghetti sauce is great.  I really wanted to share the story above since it was the last thing that my mom wrote.  She and I used to write things together, funny stories and letters to my pen pals.  These are memories beyond just the story themselves, and I wanted to share them.  Today I remember momma.  This is the 6th anniversary of her passing and I miss her as much as ever, I just don't break out into tears every time I mention her now, except at night when I'm drinking tea and quietly thinking.