Homemade Meatsauce over Homemade Garlic Toast:

You will need:

1.5-2 lbs. of Ground Beef
1/2 lb. of Hot Sausage
2 29.oz Cans of Tomato Sauce
2 12 oz. Cans of Tomato Paste
1 Medium Onion
5 Cloves of Garlic
Fresh Basil
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Oregano
Olive Oil
Sugar, Salt, Pepper

Preparation:

Herbs
=====

Basil: Coarsely chop Basil to equal a few tablespoons.
Thyme: Finely chop this herb to equal about a tablespoon
Oregano: Finely chop this herb to equal about a teaspoon

Combine these herbs and set aside.

Onion / Garlic
==============

Coarsely chop onion and garlic. Combine these 2 ingredients and place into a
small fry pan. Drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil and lightly season with
salt and pepper (I use fresh cracked peppercorn - it does make a difference).

Cooking:
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Begin sauteeing the onion and garlic; stirring occasionally until the onion
becomes translucent - set aside.

In a large fry pan, fry the sausage just until cooked and break apart so it's
almost "crumbly" or finely chopped. Add the ground beef and cook until browned.
Drain fat.

Add the sauteed onion and garlic to the ground beef and sausage mixture. Cook
over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and place mixture into
a 7-Quart Saucepan.

Open the 2 cans of tomato sauce and 2 cans of tomato paste and add this to the
saucepan. Take the empty can of Tomato Sauce and fill twice with water and add
to saucepan. Add Basil, Thyme and Oregano.

Season with 1 Teaspoon of Salt and a 1/2 Teaspoon of Pepper. Measure 1 Tablespoon
of sugar to this (this will remove some of the tartness)

Blend everything well and place on medium heat until sauce has a slight boil to
it. Turn down heat to simmer and cover. Stirring occasionally, allow meatsauce to
simmer for approximately 3 hours - this will "cook it down" and allow the marriage
of all these flavors to be combined.

Meatsauce will be thick - this is a meatsauce and not a spaghetti sauce! This
meatsauce will yield a little over a gallon! I make sure I make enough to freeze
and store the sauce in quart size containers. You can then take out what you need
for your next meal! - This sauce is also great for Lasagna too!

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Homemade Garlic Toast

While your meatsauce is simmering, you can begin prepping the garlic toast for this
meal. There is no pasta involved in this meal, so get that out of your mind
right now :)

What you're going to do is pour the meatsauce mixture OVER the garlic toast!
"Normally", you would have garlic toast WITH meatsauce over pasta, but during my
"kitchen time", I have experimented with meatsauce over fresh-made garlic toast and
it is VERY tasty!

You will need:

Fresh loaf of Italian Bread
1 Stick of Butter (softened, but NOT melted)
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tsp. of Italian Seasoning Mix (I use Good Seasons)
Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese

Place butter in a small mixing bowl.
Mince 2 cloves of garlic and place in bowl.
Add 1 tsp. of Italian Seasoning Mix

Take a small spoon and blend these ingredients well - Set aside.

Slice the italian bread into 1/2" slices and place on a foil-lined baking pan
(or non-stick baking sheet)

Spread a liberal amount of garlic/butter mixture on each slice. Top each slice with a
liberal amount of fresh grated parmesan cheese. Place the toast in the oven (or toaster
oven) at 425 Degrees until cheese is lightly browned (about 10 minutes).

Place a few slices of garlic bread on a plate and ladel meatsauce over the garlic toast!
This meal is extremely tasty and a different twist to the standard pasta that you would
normally use!

For a "Lighter" version of garlic toast:
Use Margarine instead of Butter and eliminate the Cheese

All I have to say is .... ENJOY!