Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Contributed By: Mike Jovanovich

This recipe makes 12 cups of spaghetti sauce

Directions:

1. Cook the meat and vegetables: In a crockpot, combine ground beef, chopped onion, green pepper, and minced garlic.
2. Add remaining ingredients: Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, oregano, salt, basil, thyme, bay leaf, and at least 2 cups of water or beef broth.
3. Slow cook: Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. Cool without stirring: Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool in the crockpot without stirring.
5. Refrigerate overnight: Transfer the cooled sauce to the refrigerator and let it sit overnight.
6. Remove fat: In the morning, skim off the hardened fat from the top.
7. Spread cooked spaghetti noodles on parchment-lined trays, then evenly pour the sauce over them. Consider using dividers to pre-portion meals. 
8. Freeze dry (my cycle time was 40 hours)
9. Store in jars for short-term use or in mylar bags for long-term storage

Rehydration:

Pour 1¾ to 2 cups of boiling water over 1 cup of freeze-dried noodles and 1 cup of freeze-dried sauce in an insulated container. Cover and let sit for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. If needed, add more hot water gradually to reach your desired consistency.

Notes: 

You can freeze dry this recipe without the noodles, and rehydrate to put on fresh noodles if desired.

Nutritional Value Per 1 cup of spaghetti and 1 cup of sauce 

Calories: 450   Protein: 25 g   Fat: 13 g   Carbohydrates: 57 g   Sugar: 7 g   Fiber: 5 g

Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary.