What's Cookin' - Meat Sauce

Published August 15, 2007 in The Spectrum & Daily News

By Kathryn van Roosendaal

I have never mastered the art of cooking for just a couple of people. While I was growing up, I learned to cook for a family of seven. Later, I would cook for myself and a bevy of roommates. Now, I try to cook for one – or two, it’s nice to have leftovers for lunch – but I just can’t seem to do it. I always end up with a huge pan of something and wind up eating it for a week or more.

There is one thing I intentionally make too much of – meat sauce. You can never have too much of it. It is a base for any number of great recipes and, best of all, you can freeze it to use later. I will make a big pot of the stuff and use it on spaghetti one night. I will make lasagna for company a couple nights later. The rest I will freeze in serving-sized containers to be pulled out whenever I’m in the mood. When my stash runs out, I make up another batch and do it all over again.

Meat sauce is actually one of the first recipes I learned to make on my own. I think I was probably 9 or 10 when I first took my mom’s recipe and started playing with it to make it my own. I don’t use a recipe now, I just play it by ear – and the sauce never turns out the same way twice. For the sake of meat sauce newbies, however, I dutifully wrote down what I put in it one night last month. Have fun with it, and feel free to add your own personal touch.

Kathryn’s Chunky Meat Sauce

1 pound ground sirloin

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes or 3 cups pureed fresh tomatoes

2 cups finely chopped tomatoes, preferably Roma

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms, optional

1 tablespoon basil leaf, or 1/2 tablespoon powdered

1 teaspoon oregano leaf, or 1/2 teaspoon powdered

1 teaspoon thyme leaf, or 1/2 teaspoon powdered

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

2 to 4 tablespoons sugar

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic and sauté until the onion starts to turn translucent. Add the ground sirloin and cook on medium heat until the meat is browned. Drain any excess fat and return the cooked meat to the skillet. Add the crushed or pureed tomatoes and the chopped tomatoes. Stir to mix well and bring the sauce to a simmering boil. Add all the spices and the sugar, using less sugar if you like a tomatoey taste and more for a sweeter sauce. Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes or until the chopped tomatoes begin dissolving into the sauce. Serve hot over pasta or layer into lasagna. Sauce can also be frozen for future use. Makes about 5 cups sauce.

Green Spaghetti

This is a single-serving recipe for those singles out there. It is a great way to get your veggies!

1/2 cup whole-wheat spaghetti

1/2 cup chopped, cooked spinach

1/2 cup Kathryn’s Chunky Meat Sauce

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Put spaghetti in a shallow bowl, top with the cooked spinach and top with meat sauce. Serve hot. Serves 1.

Lasagna

If you have trouble getting the kids to eat their veggies, try grating the zucchini and mixing it into the meat sauce. They’ll never know it’s there.

2 small zucchini, cut in half and sliced lengthwise, optional

1 1/2 cup ricotta or cottage cheese

3 cups grated mozzarella cheese

3 cups Kathryn’s Chunky Meat Sauce

1/2 package lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Layer the ingredients in a greased 4-quart casserole in this order: A layer of noodles, a layer of ricotta or cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, zucchini, then sauce. Repeat until there are three complete layers, then top with another layer of noodles and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 6.