I grew up making spaghetti sauce in a large pot. You make a big batch, because that’s how you can get all of the good stuff in. Then you freeze the excess. My husband calls my sauce “Spaghetti for 40 people” because I make such a big batch. But he can’t deny that it is good!

So, if you are having a large group of people over and need something to feed them all, or you are planning ahead and want to have a yummy, meaty sauce on hand for busy school nights, this is a recipe for you.

Give yourself plenty of time too. This sauce needs to be made a day in advance so all of the flavors can have a party together and really mix it up. I usually pull the sausage links and ribs out to serve either as a side dish or for a completely separate meal.

And yes, it is FILLED with meat and veggies! The way it should be.

• olive oil
• 2 medium onions – diced
• 1 medium bulb garlic – minced
• flour
• 1 package stew meat
• 1 package mild Italian sausage links
• 1 package ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 small package ground turkey
• pork ribs

• red wine
• balsamic vinegar

• 12 roma tomatoes
• 4 – 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes (with basil is a bonus!)
• 2 small cans of tomato paste
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic, onion and basil
• 10 mushrooms – sliced
• 8 medium carrots – chopped
• 2 medium zucchini – halved and chopped

Herbs – to taste

• oregano
• basil
• savory
• white pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• rosemary

Yes, there are LOTS of ingredients in here.

I generally use a large saute pan at this stage, and pour everything into the large stock pot as it is browned.

Drizzle enough olive oil in your stock pot to just cover the bottom when warm. Put it on low heat.

In a large saute pan, drizzle olive oil and saute onions until translucent. Add the minced garlic and caramelize the garlic and onions. Deglaze the pan with a little balsamic vinegar or red wine. Pour this into the stock pot.

Add 1 can of crushed tomatoes to keep the onions from further browning. Fill the can with warm water and use a spatula to make sure that you get all of the tomato off of the sides. Pour this into the stock pot as well. Do this with each can you use.

Add a little more olive oil to the saute pan. Fill it with sausage links. While those are browning, dredge the stew meat in the flour to coat it. I generally cut the sausage links in half at least once they are browned. It depends on if you are planning to pull them out or not. If you are leaving them in, cut them into coins (approx. 1/2-inch wide slices) and brown the insides. When they are browned, pour them into the stock pot.

Deglaze the pan again.

In a medium saucepan, bring some water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and set it aside.

Add some more olive oil and brown the stew meat. When all sides have been browned, add them to the stock pot.

Your water should be boiling now. Dip your roma tomatoes into the boiling water for about 30-60 seconds, or until the skin begins to split. Dunk them immediatly into the ice water. Move them to an empty bowl – the skins should slip right off. Discard the skins.

Brown the ribs, keeping them on the bone. These will be pulled out later and used as a separate dish. Trust me, it’s good. Toss them, bone and all, into the stock pot. Deglaze the pan.

While the ribs are cooking, dice the tomatoes and add them to the stock pot with 2 more cans of crushed tomatoes.

Combine the Italian sausage and ground turkey together in the saute pan, and brown them. Remove the excess grease and add them to the sauce. Deglaze the pan one more time to get all of those good browned bits off of the bottom.

Add the rest of the tomatoes, taking care to mix the tomato paste in well, and wash the sides of the cans, adding the tomato-y water to the sauce.

Add the chopped carrots and mushrooms to the pot and stir them down in. You may need more or less, depending on your preference.

Toss in the bay leaves. Using the palms of your hands, crush the oregano, basil and savory into the sauce. Cover the top of the sauce with a thin layer of pepper. Stir them all down in. I like to add a small sprig of fresh rosemary to the sauce, and pull it out with the bay leaves just before serving.

Let this cook down a bit before adding the zucchini. I usually leave in on low overnight to give the flavors the best chance to combine.

Add the chopped zucchini about 2 hours before you plan to serve it. If you have picky eaters, you can shred the zucchini to add the flavor, but no one will complain about it being in their sauce.

Taste it to see if you need to add any more salt, pepper, etc.

Before you serve it, make sure you pull out the ribs. If you plan to leave the meat in, remove it from the ribs now and add the meat back in. Make sure you get ALL of the bones out. Take out the bay leaves and rosemary sprig as well.

I usually serve the sausage links – cut into thirds – in a bowl at the side for those that may want them.

Boil your noodles of choice – penne, radiatori, farfalle, etc. – and serve with shredded cheese!

A meat lover’s dream sauce. Just don’t tell them that there are also veggies in it!