HSmom Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 I LOVE my spaghetti sauce!! I literally eat it with a spoon...just a bit ago, I sat down with a bowl of sauce, plus a bit of parmesan and ate it. I also canned 14 quarts. For your dining and canning pleasure, I present my recipe 3 lbs ground meat 2 heads (2 whole heads, not 2 cloves) garlic, peeled and pressed or minced 7 - 7.5 lbs fresh mushrooms, quartered or chopped 6 large zucchini (let them grow to 2-3 inches in diameter and 10-12 inches long) pureed with skins on until they are saucy 2 #10 cans tomato sauce (6lb, 10oz each) 4 Tbsp dried minced onion 4 Tbsp oregano 1 Tbsp basil In a large pot/pan, brown and crumble ground meat. After the first few minutes, but before meat is fully cooked, add in prepared garlic and mushrooms. Cook over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink and mushrooms give off their juice. Stir in zucchini sauce (trust me; noone will know), tomato sauce and seasonings. Let simmer for 1/2 hour or so. Can in quart jars, processing as for meat at your altitude. Yields around 14 quarts. If you prefer a tomato-y-er sauce, halve all the other ingredients. If you love mushrooms, don't change a thing. If you'd like to try this out and see if you actually like it, here is the original small recipe (about 5 pints) 1/2 lb ground meat 5 cloves garlic 1 - 1.25 lbs mushrooms 2 medium zucchini 1 quart tomato sauce 2 tsp dry minced onion 2 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp basil Quote Link to comment
Adam_MA Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 Yes it sounds very good! And thank you for the 5 pint version. Us single live alone guys appreciate it! Quote Link to comment
SueC Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 But Adam, if you make a big batch and can it, then it will last longer! Just think one days work for 10 pints, that really isnt that much. But it is more instant meals sitting on the shelf for those days when you get home late and feel like cooking properly. Quote Link to comment
Adam_MA Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 True, but the recipe doesn't look like it should take very long to make! Quote Link to comment
SueC Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 but think of time and energy expended, one big batch this month - next month a big batch of something else, soon wou will have lots of variety ... Quote Link to comment
Adam_MA Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 True! I guess I need to go out and get more jars! Quote Link to comment
Leah Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Depends on the size of your canner... 14 quarts would be 28 pints, or a little over 2 a month for a year. 5 pints would last you how long - 2 months? If you make this up when the ingredients are dirt cheap you are saving quite a bit of money, not to mention the time. A N D you don't have to buy until the prices are cheap again... Quote Link to comment
Adam_MA Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Good points! I guess I'll need some more canning jars! Quote Link to comment
HSmom Posted July 25, 2007 Author Share Posted July 25, 2007 Several months ago, I purchased an absurd number of canning jars. I left them in my car, after my shopping trips, until the next day when my dh was at work. Then I lugged them all up into the attic. Some were placed conspicuously at the top of the attic stairs, in boxes truthfully labelled "18 quart jars." The rest were secreted away in the dark recesses of the attic. I had a moment of panic the other day. I've been canning a lot this week and last. When I counted the number of empty jars at the top of the stairs, I thought: "Is that all?!?!? I need to buy more jars!" Eventually, my muddled brain recalled the hidden jars, found them and counted them. Ahhhh. While I thought I only had 4 dozen empty jars up there, I actually have 9 dozen - and that's only counting quarts. I still need to buy more. It does become a bit of an addiction. But I figure that other suburban wives waste money on worse things than my little canning habit. lol Quote Link to comment
preparing Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 I am getting that way too. I cannot pass the thrift store on 50% day without looking. Quote Link to comment
mom11 Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 HI HSmom! I really want to make this recipe! Would the bright yellow zucchini work, as well as he green? I would think they might even have more vitamins, since they are so yellow. I have lots of both! Is this sauce sweeet? Mine like theirs a bit sweet. Could I add a little sugar, without messing it up? I have been canning eggplant pasta sauce. Mine love it and my oldest daughter pours it over stuffed shells and says it is really good. Darlene mentioned that eggplant doesn't hold up well to canning, and gets soft, so I haven't posted the recipe. However, I guess since it is a sauce it doesn't matter. I never expected it to stay firm, but maybe others wouldn't like it. It kind of cooks up, like tomatoes do, actually a little firmer. I have been canning lots of spaghetti sauce, with meat...So far 61 quarts...Thanks for that recipe CAT! I have picked 350lbs. of Romas and the plants are still going strong. Today it will be Darlene's marinara sauce and salsa! Quote Link to comment
Cat Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 POST IT, POST IT!!! Eggplant sauce sounds GOOD!! Yellow squash should work just fine. Adjust the sugar to your own tastes. And you're quite welcome for the recipe. Quote Link to comment
HSmom Posted July 30, 2007 Author Share Posted July 30, 2007 My recipe is not at all sweet. My mom adds brown sugar to her spaghetti sauce and I don't care for it. If you like sweet sauce and if the yellow squash are sweet, I think you'll end up with a product you like. For something like spaghetti sauce, I add a little something, let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, taste and maybe add some more. That's a TON of sauce! Good for you!! Quote Link to comment
mom11 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Hi HSmom! I am getting ready to can two big batches of your sauce. I sliced the mushrooms, guess they will be OK. Have you ever used fresh onion in this sauce? I froze the zucchini a while ago, although "You know who", once again left a freezer open and some meat juice dripped into one container, so I threw that batch out. I'll just run to the store and buy a few more squash. I'm also going to do more of Darlene's marinara sauce and CAT's spaghetti sauce. Thanks everybody! You are great friends! Quote Link to comment
Necie Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 "I'm also going to do more of Darlene's marinara sauce and CAT's spaghetti sauce." Where are these recipes? Can't seem to find them. Working on basic tomato sauce and looking for ideas. Quote Link to comment
Joanna Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I noticed someone asking about adding suger. This is a great tip to keep in mind. Many people suffer from heatburn after eating a tomato based sauce. A supper easy way to prevent this is to add about a table spoon of suger (per approx. 16 oz tomato ingediants)B/C tomatos are naturally a bit sweet no one will notice this small addition except for the lack of discomfort afterwards Quote Link to comment
Darlene Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Also adding whole carrots (how many depends on how big of a pot you are making) accomplishes the same thing the sugar does, but in a more natural manner. Quote Link to comment
HSmom Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Originally Posted By: mom11 Hi HSmom! I am getting ready to can two big batches of your sauce. I sliced the mushrooms, guess they will be OK. Have you ever used fresh onion in this sauce? I froze the zucchini a while ago, although "You know who", once again left a freezer open and some meat juice dripped into one container, so I threw that batch out. I'll just run to the store and buy a few more squash. I'm also going to do more of Darlene's marinara sauce and CAT's spaghetti sauce. Thanks everybody! You are great friends! I used to use fresh onions in this recipe, but switched to dried as part of my 'eat what you store' program. Add the fresh onions at the same time as the mushrooms & garlic. Personally, I would've used the zucchini. It's gonna get thoroughly cooked, so any meat juice icky wouldn't cause illness...just a thought for if that happens again. Speaking of zucchini and stored foods...I've frozen all the zucchini puree that I want for bread/muffins for the year. The remainder of the zucchini, I am dehydrating to brittle, then pulverizing in the food processor. I plan to use it in future batches of spaghetti sauce. Quote Link to comment
mom11 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Thanks everybody...I have the two batches in the stockpots and as soon as I get my four loaves of French bread raising, will start canning. It sure looks and smells yummy. I have grated and dried some of my zucchini and also froze some. I just replanted and will see what I get. I paid $5.62 for 8 small, wilted zucchini's...Not doing that again. I thought about keeping the frozen zucchini, with the meat juice in it, but.... I also used the dried onion. I bought carrots for the marinara sauce, but just threw a little brown sugar in this sauce. My chicks are getting sick and we have lots of school work to do....OK...I am lazy! Necie...I am so stupid...I will look those recipes up for you and tell you where they are. If you can't find them, I'll just copy them for you....I don't know how to do the thing, where it would just appear right before your eyes. Why Oh Why, did I let this child go to college at 16...BOOHOO! Just kidding! He gets to come home tomorrow...He just hasn't adequately prepared me for the real world...He keeps trying though...HEEHEE!!! I'm still stuck on trying to post pictures.....Be glad I don't have this down! I do finally know how to use the camera...Kind of! Quote Link to comment
mom11 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Necie...Don't make sauce out of all your maters...The marinara sauce uses 2 quarts of chunky tomatoes, per batch. I do 4 batches at a time. I'll look those recipes up as soon as I get this stuff in the canner... Quote Link to comment
Shari Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 This sounds great. I like the idea of zuchini in it! Does anybody know if it is ok to use ground turkey or ground chicken in recipes like this? 150# hubby is on a cardiac diet and needs to watch the beef intake. I can't seem to find any info on canning ground poultry. Thanks and hugs! Quote Link to comment
mom11 Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Necie..Here's the post numbers for the different sauces. I made the first spaghetti sauce recipe and added the meat. I have made lots of that and Darlene's marinara sauce...They are both YUMMY! #98199 #98200 #80963 Quote Link to comment
mommato3boys Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Originally Posted By: Darlene Also adding whole carrots (how many depends on how big of a pot you are making) accomplishes the same thing the sugar does, but in a more natural manner. We cut a potato in half and cook in ours hubby said it helps no more heart burn. Quote Link to comment
Darlene Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Shari, the process times for ground chicken/turkey will be the same as for ground beef. http://uga.edu/nchfp/how/can_05/ground_chopped.html Quote Link to comment
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