Andrea had this idea that she and I should take turns cooking a family meal every other week and this was the first (and my mainstay) recipe that I learned how to cook. I have it memorized ever since and while I've morphed it a bit from the original over the years, but it's still true to its roots. The handwritten recipe card is the one Mom made for me when I moved into my first apartment.

The story of this recipe's origin is that my parents loved to eat at an Italian restaurant near their (our) home on 2362 Lefeber Ave and
Mom decided that she could duplicate or better the spaghetti sauce, which resulted in this.

• 3/4 lb ground Beef (92%)
• 2 small Onions, diced
  • Brown in skillet
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 shake Red Pepper Flakes
  • Add, bloom
• 2×6 oz cans Tomato Paste
• 2 tomato paste cans of Water
• 2×8 oz cans Tomato Sauce
  • Stir in and bring to a boil
• 10 shakes Oregano
• 5 shakes Basil
• 1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar (or more)
• 3 shakes ground Allspice
• 1/2 ring Yellow Mustard (optional)
  • Add, simmer until spaghetti is done

• I sometimes will double the batch and use 1-1.5 lbs hamburger.
• Can also use Sweet Italian Sausage meet mixed with the hamburger.
• The original recipe didn't call for garlic because we didn't have fresh garlic around the house until I was in my teens.
• Freezes well.
• Save 1 qt of sauce in Freezer for quick Penn Ave Lasagna.