Meat Sauce with Mushrooms

Meat Sauce with Mushrooms

I make sauce almost every Sunday....sometimes Marinara, sometimes with meatballs...It's typically never the same. I put it into jars and freeze it to use during the week or whenever I need to. I posted a marinara sauce recipe on here before, which is usually the base for my sauce. I start with that sauce and add to it. This is the sauce I made last weekend.  It came out so delicious I had to share the recipe.

2 large cans Cento San Marzano tomatoes

1/2 white onion (cut in half)

3 bay leaves

1 cube butter

8 large, fresh basil leaves (torn)

1 cup red wine

(These ingredients make the base sauce.)

1 pkg mild sausage (I got the links and squeezed the sausage from the casing. It just tastes better in my opinion.)

1-8oz pkg sliced mushrooms

8 cloves of garlic, sliced or crushed, whichever you prefer

1Tbsp sugar

1 tsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp minced onion

These are the best tomatoes, but you can use any brand that you want. The San Marzano tomatoes really make a difference, but I have used plum tomatoes in a pinch.

So, for the base sauce, I smash the whole tomatoes by hand into a saucepan.  I add the onion, peeled and sliced in half, not diced or chopped. I add the butter, basil leaves and bay leaves.  When the sauce starts to simmer, add the wine.  Turn the heat down and slow simmer for at least half an hour.

While the sauce is simmering, squeeze the sausage from the casings into a saute pan with about 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add the mushrooms. 

When sausage is fully cooked, drain the fat from the pan.  

After your base sauce has been simmering for at least half an hour (my base sauce simmers at least 2 hours, but I realize that's not always possible) , add the sausage and mushroom mixture.  Add the remaining ingredients. I let my sauce cook all day, but you really don't have to.  I do think it should simmer for at least an hour. I simmer with a lid on because otherwise, it gets too thick. You can take the large onion pieces out before serving if you want. Sometimes I leave them in, sometimes I take them out...it's totally up to you and what you prefer.

I hope you all try this out! It really is yummy!