Sprucing Up Canned Pasta Sauce

This recipe for improving canned spaghetti sauce comes from my aunt. It is pretty easy but takes some time, so you'll need a few hours where you can stay near the stove while the sauce simmers. The hours of simmering really enhances the flavor. You can make a side, like garlic bubble bread, or read a book while it simmers.

Time: about 4 Hours

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

- 2 jars of pasta sauce (any brand or flavor you prefer)

- 2 pounds of ground beef (can also use ground turkey or remove meat entirely)

- grated cheese

- oregano

- basil

- 1.5 pounds of pasta noodles (of your choice)

Steps:

1) Brown the beef on medium heat. Once cooked, drain the fat and crumble into small pieces.

2) Mix the jars of pasta sauce with the meat crumbles. (You can use the skillet you used to brown the meat). Stir in oregano and basil to taste and a generous serving of grated cheese.

3) Simmer the pasta sauce for three hours on low, stirring occasionally. Leave the lid on for thinner sauce, or keep the lid off for thicker sauce.

4) When the sauce is almost done, cook the pasta according to the directions on the box.

5) Serve and enjoy.