Yield: 4-6 servings

Loosely based on a recipe in the Seven Seas Nantucket Cookbook.

This is a moving target recipe if there ever was one. This is a quick cooking sauce and does not need long simmering.  Once the sauce is mixed and simmering, the sauce will be done in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.

Meat:

• 4-6Italian sausages, sweet, mild, hot or combination (optional)
• 1lb ground beef
• 8oz ground pork or ground sausage (optional)

Veg:

• 2TBS Olive oil
• 1small or medium onion chopped fine
• 1green bell pepper, small dice (optional)
• 2cloves garlic minced
• 1green bell pepper, diced
• 8oz mushrooms, sliced or quartered (optional)

For sauce:

• 114-oz can tomato sauce
• 114-oz can diced tomatoes
• 16-oz can tomato paste (optional)
• 16-oz can water (paste can) (optional)

Seasonings:

• 1tsp basil
• 1tsp oregano
• 1tsp salt
• 1tsp sugar
• ¼ to ½tsp fresh ground black pepper

For sausage: If adding the optional sausage, place them in a sauté pan over medium high heat with a cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to simmer. Turn over after 6 minutes, cover and cook for another 6 minutes. Pour water into a glass measuring cup. Return to stove, and sauté until browned on all sides 4-8 minutes. Set aside.

For mushrooms: If adding the optional mushrooms, place them and a TBS of olive oil to the sauté pan over medium heat. Cook for 4-8 minutes, until water evaporates and mushrooms brown. Set aside.

Sweat vegetables: In a 2-qt sauce pan, heat 1 TBS olive oil and sweat (see Terms) onion and optional green pepper over medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add garlic, sauté 30 seconds more. Remove to a small bowl.

For ground beef: Carefully remove any left over garlic, otherwise it will burn and get bitter. Turn heat up to medium-high. Add ground beef and brown until mostly cooked through. Reduce heat to medium.

For sauce: Return onion and garlic to pan. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and optional paste. Fill paste can with tap or sausage water and add. Add all seasonings and 1 TBS olive oil. Stir carefully. If using, add sausage to pan. Cover, bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer while pasta cooks.

Options:

Go meatless with no beef or sausage. Ha ha ha.
Replace onion with 1 TBS Minced onion flakes.
Replace garlic with ½ tsp garlic powder (only if desperate).
Adjust seasonings. I always uses a heaping tsp of basil and oregano based on an eye-ball guess.