Mom’s Meat Sauce

It’s Mother’s Day weekend! To celebrate my mom, I am sharing her delicious meat sauce recipe with the entire world. My mom is an amazing chef! She learned from her parents, as they were amazing in the kitchen, as well. My Papou George (Grandfather in Greek) cooked a beautifully prepared meal every single night. He used real and fresh ingredients and his meals were gourmet to the extreme. My Yiayia Mary (Grandmother in Greek) was also a great cook but she was an incredible baker. My mom said that many nights my Yiayia and Papou would actually cook together. That’s pretty much how Jeff and I are when it comes to making dinner.

My mom learned from the best when it comes to cooking, and she cooked a lot while I was growing up. As I have gotten older, she doesn’t cook as much because she works a lot and enjoys her work (you know… so it doesn’t feel like work) and doesn’t always want to come home and cook. There are 2 solutions to that: 1) When she’s in town, I cook for her every night and 2) eat out. Mom has said over the past few years it’s been harder and harder to eat out because she loves my cooking so much. THANKS MOMMY!

A few weeks ago, Mom was in town and said, “Tonight, I want to cook for you!” She sent us to the store to get some goods, and we came home that night and watched her prepare a meat sauce that is forever my favorite. You know how families have recipes that get passed down from generation to generation? Well, this is going to be that recipe that will get passed down to my kids someday as their “Yiayia’s Meat Sauce” … and, no, I am not pregnant

You can use this meat sauce to pour over some freshly made zoodles (zucchini noodles) or red lentil pasta. You could even eat just a plain bowl of it with a spoon! We have thought of all of the ways you could eat this meat sauce: on a baked potato, with an egg over easy on top, as a Sloppy Joe (just reduce some of the liquid) with some hot crispy fries, over cauliflower rice, or anything else you can think of. The possibilities are endless.

So, like my mom, I cook from my heart. I use a pinch of this, a dash of that, a handful of this and don’t measure a thing. I taste it and add whatever I think a dish needs. That was my biggest struggle when I finally started Krysten’s Kitchen. I hate writing down what I use because it takes so much time, but I do see how much it helps many of you when I take the time to measure and write it all down to then share it with you. I am glad that I have been so diligent to measure it all! I love that I have a collection of recipes here on my website to reference back to and share with you.

My Mama Bear didn’t measure a thing that night, but I watched what she used and decided to make it myself two days later and BOOM - a recipe has been born into my family that technically has been passed down from my mommy… and it’s just in time for Mother’s Day!

I made it for her last night, and she said it was perfect and ready to post on my blog! My mommy (yes, I still call her that at 29 years old) is an amazing woman. She is strong, warm, caring, smart, talented, loving, funny, and I am so thankful she is my mommy. She works hard and has taught me so much about life. We get closer as each day goes by, and we have so much fun together! She gives the best advice ever, no matter what the issue is, and, goodness, I love her beyond words! My husband, mom and I are like a trio that you cannot separate. We work well together, travel well together, have fun and, honestly, we are stronger in life as the Three Musketeers. We each compliment each other and balance out our strengths and weaknesses. I love my Mama Bear, and I wish you could all know my mommy.

Here you go, just in time to celebrate Mom, I give you my mom’s meat sauce.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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INGREDIENTS

1 red onion

1 yellow onion

2-6 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

2 lbs ground beef

1 can tomato sauce

1 can stewed tomatoes

2 handfuls spinach, ribboned

salt and pepper - optional

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown your ground beef and set aside in a bowl.

In the same pan, sauté your diced red onion, yellow onion, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper and garlic. Sauté until translucent and soft. Add your cooked ground beef back into the large skillet and mix together.

Add 2 handfuls of ribboned (or whole leaf) spinach. Cover for 3 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Mix well.

Pour the tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes into the large skillet and mix until combined. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Pour over red lentil pasta, veggie noodles or eat it right out of the skillet with a spoon.