It's Food Friday!

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I salute all of you that are braving the freezing temperatures back East and hope sunshine will be soon headed your way.  I thought I would share with you a recipe that is frugal and satisfying for the entire family.

When the weather is cold, I enjoy serving a delicious and hot plate of Spaghetti for the family.  I tweaked this recipe a few years ago, while learning to stretch a few pounds of hamburger while on a strict budget.  It can still bring down the house, and is simple to make with basic ingredients most of us have in our pantry.

3 lbs lean ground hamburger meat or lean ground turkey

3 washed, peeled and diced carrots

3 washed, trimmed and diced celery

2 Tablespoon of chopped garlic

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

Cook the meat on low heat in a large Dutch oven, crumbling the meat as it browns.  While the meat cooks, wash and finely dice the carrots, celery, and onion.  When the meat longer pink, drain the excess oil and add the chopped carrots, celery, onion and garlic.  Cover and continue to cook on low heat for a half hour or until vegetables become soft.

Then add:

2 cans tomato paste

2 Tablespoon powdered chicken bouillon

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 Tablespoons of dried Italian seasoning

Garlic Powder

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of water

Stir the tomato paste, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper into the ground beef mixture.  Slowly add 2 cups of water, stirring well to blend everything, then cover.  Continue to cook, covered, for four hours on a very low simmer.  Stir the meat sauce occasionally to prevent scorching and to incorporate the flavors.  (This can also be done in a crock-pot set on low for six to eight hours)

After the allotted time has passed, sauté in a separate pan:

1 Tablespoon of butter, melted

2 Tablespoons of flour

Stir until the mixture resembles a fine paste, and then slowly add:

2 cups of water

Continue stirring on medium-low heat until the mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook at a slow simmer for 3 minutes.  This flour and water sauce will thicken to the consistency of a thick gravy.

Slowly add the gravy like mixture to simmering spaghetti sauce.  Stir continuously until the mixture is well blended and begins to thicken, and then stir for an extra two minutes.

Simmer the spaghetti sauce, stirring occasionally, for an additional half-hour.

Season to taste again before serving over pasta.  Serve with salad and a good, fresh French bread and a salad.

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