Tomato Sauce With Ground Beef (And Variations) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole bay leaf
VARIATIONS
1 -2 cup coarsely cut up mushroom
2 1/2 cups diced carrots
2 1/2 cups diced celery
2 1/2 cups diced green peppers
3 1/2 cups red wine

Preparation

Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan; add onion; saute over low heat, stirring, until tender and golden, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, saute 1 minute.
Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a skillet, stirring to crumble meat; drain off fat; add the onion mixture.
OPTIONAL: now is when you would add the mushrooms, vegetables or red wine.
Saute until tender or until the wine is reduced by half.
Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, 1 tsp salt, the basil, oregano, pepper and bay leaf.
Heat over medium-low heat to simmering.
Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, stirring occasionally until sauce is thickened and flavourful, about 1 hour 15 minutes.