Sunday Pasta

Sunday was always a good day in my house growing up. First we all would go to church together EARLY and second my mom would no sooner get in our door and on would go the fresh sauce.

She'd grab her apron and she would immediately change her mode to let's get the sauce going. She would take out a huge pot and start by going under the kitchen cupboard and pulling out the container on Olive Oil. She'd place what looked to me as 1/4 cup of the olive oil in the pot on a medium heat, she'd proceed to add lots of ground meat. A thick meat sauce was Dad's favorite sauce!

When the meat browned she add I think at least 4, 5 or 6 cloves of minced garlic, about 5 or 6 basil leaves and keep simmering until she would add to it 1 small can tomato paste  (3 can of water to make sure she got all the paste) (using the can of tomato paste as measure) then she would Stir it until the paste/water mixed well with the ground meat and watch it until it started to bubble a little.

Once the meat/tomato paste mixture would be bubbling she'd add 3 to 4 large cans Tomato Puree and clean out the cans with a little water to make sure there wasn't a drop of tomato left in the can.

She'd lightly cover the sauce and stir it frequently to make sure it would not stick to the bottom of the pot. Usually on a medium to low heat. "You don't want it to burn" I'd remember her saying.

I remember waiting for the sauce to be done (I loved dipping Italian bread in it while I patiently waited for it to be done. We went to 7 a.m. mass so by the time we got home (8:15)put in on it would be ready for our 1 p.m. Sunday Dinner.  Sauce took at least 3 hours to cook. That was a requirement! so the meat could flavor the tomatoes. Spaghetti or Rigatoni would be the pasta or if we were lucky she would make "homemades"the night before laying them out on a tablecloth to dry overnight. Whew! A lot accomplished in a day I'd say!!:)

We prefer a little less ground meat in our sauce and I add meatballs or pork spare ribs to my sauce.

Today my sauce is made long before, almost the same ingredients except I used crushed tomatoes and I freeze what we don't use that day for another meal. I freeze a lot of sauces to save time.  Today's modern lifestyle.  Think ahead!

This morning has been quiet. I have my sauce ready to go. It's in the refrigerator thawing out. Today we are having ziti, my hubby's longtime favorite. Mass will be later this morning. We like to sleep a little later on Sunday but Sunday will always be an important day for me! Good Memories last a lifetime.

Make some Good Memories today too!

 Peace and Love to all, M.j.