Reviewed: Aug. 23, 2009

Better the 2nd day

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Janet

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Austin, Texas, USA

Living In: Pflugerville, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 19, 2009

This recipe is fantastic! It tastes very authentic and has great flavor. Make it on a day when you're around the house and just let it simmer on the stove all afternoon. I left out the celery because I don't care for it, and added more red pepper and less green. It freezes well and reheats even better than the first time! This will be a new staple in my dinner rotation.

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Nikole

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Reviewed: Jul. 13, 2009

GREAT Sauce.. Made in Crockpot___I had to change a few things do to what I had on hand. Ground Italian Turkey Meat/No mushrooms/No green peppers/No Bay Leaf. I sub roasted red peppers/hot pepper for the red pepper flakes. Use this sauce to make Lasagna it was the best one yet..I plan to use this sauce from now on no more store bought junk..

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Jayashiangel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Peoria, Arizona, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 2, 2009

I'm giving this recipe 3 stars "as is" but I made some changes and think it's better. In addition to the ground beef I added some Italian sausage. Mashing up the whole tomatoes didn't work to great so next time I am going to use stewed tomatoes. I omitted the red bell pepper. I used canned mushrooms instead of fresh although if you are a mushroom lover I'm sure fresh would be better. Four bay leaves is a bit overwhelming. I think cutting it back to two would be much better. I used a tablespoon of dried basil instead of two tbsps. fresh. I will make this recipe with my changes again and again.

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AmyB

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Reviewed: Nov. 12, 2008

this recipe turned out AWESOME!! I have 4 children and they all actually sat at the table, quietly eating, for 15 minutes longer than usual. I am amazed. my DH raved at the authentic italian taste and texture, a real keeper...thanks!

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aimeecooks

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Reviewed: Aug. 9, 2008

This sauce was a disappointment. The bell peppers were overpowering and there was too much bay flavor. Also, it gave several people who ate it gas. I'm still on the look out for THE spaghetti sauce. BTW except for using the crock pot and reducing some of the flavorings (not the bay) I followed the recipe.

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MaryLizBeth

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Mobile, Alabama, USA

Living In: Alabaster, Alabama, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 28, 2008

I too love sweetness in my sauce, however, I do not like to add sugar. A friend of ours, who did go to culinary school made a sauce & his was awesome with a beautiful sweetness.. not a sugary artificial one. I asked his secret, I knew he would not add sugar either. He said he adds crushed rosemary. Wonderful! Makes all the difference in taste & no added sugar.

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missalee

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Fletcher, Ohio, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2008

Like a lot of other people, I customized a lot, but this was the first time I've made my own pasta sauce and it turned out fantastic with raves from everyone!

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FIZGIGG

Cooking Level: Beginning

Living In: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2007

I have found some great recipes on this site over the years, but I did not care for this recipe. With the peppers and celery in it, it reminded me more of chili (with different spices, of course!) than it did spaghetti sauce. I certainly won't be making it again!

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ALIPAIGE

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Columbus, Ohio, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 31, 2007

Great rich zesty flavor in this one! Lots of spices and it certainly looked delicious too right from the start. This even had a bit of heat too with the crushed red pepper flakes, which my son didn't like, but I loved. I used a potato masher to try to get the whole tomatoes mashed according to directions, but stopped a sorta chunky as it was too much work and didn't matter anyway to my family. I used plenty of shortcuts but tried to stick as close to the written recipe as possible. I used dried minced onion, dried basil, dried minced celery flakes, a small can of sliced mushrooms, and a can of diced tomatoes with diced green peppers already in it, so I saved all the chopping time and prep work. I added a tsp of salt, and then about 3 Tbs sugar to tame some of the acid. This was good, but it didn't make our favorites list. Thanks Lana for posting this, I had fun making something new and different.

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~TxCin~ILove2Ck

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

Living In: Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 18, 2007

one look at this sauce simmering on the stovetop is enough to trigger ur salivary glands and one whiff of this sauce will make you think u're in the fanciest italian restaurant in town! When i made this sauce for my mom, i substituted the ground beef with ground turkey breast, used one green bell pepper instead of two and used two cans of diced tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes. Although this sauce was very stimulating visually and olfactorily, i must say it was lacking in the "taste" area. I found the sauce to be quite bland. This recipe makes a good base sauce, but if i were to make it again, i would definitely add some salt as well as a dash of brown sugar to balance out tangy tomato taste. Thank you to the recipe submitter! hope this review helps =)

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Joyce

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 28, 2007

It was so so-- it smelled great but the taste was nothing special. And it was really sour- needs sugar.

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mika707

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 23, 2007

I made a healthier version of this recipe and it's the BEST spaghetti I've tasted in my whole life, even better than at restaurants! I was VERY surprised. This is a GREAT basic recipe to work with. I used Jennie-O lean ground turkey instead of beef and omitted the celery and red and green peppers. The original recipe includes some unnecessary steps though. I heated the turkey until it was cooked and then sauteed half a carton of mushrooms (self-sliced) with it. In saucepan, I combined tomato sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, basil, and bay leaf. This saves the onion and garlic work. I didn't add any salt. I love that this recipe doesn't need any oil. Also, I only added a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Next time I will add some fresh tomato. Despite leaving out the celery and peppers and not using real onion or garlic clove, it was extremely flavorful. I can't believe a recipe turned out so good on my first try. My boyfriend can't wait to try it! Definitely 5 stars!

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Size6

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Reviewed: Jul. 1, 2007

Just like the spaghetti sauce my mom makes. The only changes I made were to use diced canned tomatoes instead of whole and I added olive oil to the sauce (quite a bit). Delicious!

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megallyn

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Reviewed: Jun. 10, 2007

This is rich and robust. I used 1.5 pounds of ground chicken instead of beef. I also used more tomato paste and then added half a cup of wine. Yum! As one reviewer pointed out, this can all be done in one pot. It also need not simmer all day.

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Basg

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Living In: Jerusalem, Mehoz Yerushalayim, Israel

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Reviewed: May 22, 2007

This was only so-so for us.It was definitely better the next day,so maybe letting it stand in the fridge the day before you serve it would be much better.

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autumnrose

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Estherville, Iowa, USA

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Reviewed: May 14, 2007

Loved it! Rave reviews from all family members!

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jlcook

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: North East, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: May 2, 2007

I use all fresh herbs instead of italian seasoning (so couple sprigs rosemary, handfuls of marjoram, oregano, basil) and sometimes add an italian sausage (we like spicy). Also add about 1/2 cup red wine if we have it. I find that if i simmer it longer than 3 hours the basil gets a little too overpowering (one of few herbs to increase flavor as it cooks) so i either cut down the cooking time or add part way through. This is a good base recipe- I just add in whatever I have that looks good so like all my other recipes i never quite make it the same twice- always tastes good on those cooler days though. (although i don't understand the multiple pans- i just cook it in one)

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nomoojuiceforme

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada

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Reviewed: Apr. 22, 2007

This is a great recipe, but I cut the Italian seasoning to 3 Tablespoons, 5 was WAY too much.

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Jamie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: South Roxana, Illinois, USA

Living In: Alton, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 5, 2007

Thisd is a great start for a great sauce. However, I found it had way too much basil and Italian seasonings. I will make it again but will add the seasonings as I go and taste it before putting in more. We prefer a more liquid sauce so added somw V/8 as this sauce is quite thick.

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