Zesty Spaghetti Sauce With Sausage - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb spicy ground pork sausage (Jimmy Dean HOT breakfast sausage works well, or any Italian ground spicy sausage)
2 (29 ounce) cans store-bought spaghetti sauce (I like Dole Four Cheese blend, but you could use any flavor or brand, or make your own)
4 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, Italian Style (diced okay, do not drain)
4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped (white or yellow)
1 medium red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium green pepper, coarsely chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms (fresh or canned, stems or pieces okay, no need to drain)
4 -6 garlic cloves, minced (to taste, I use minced garlic from a jar)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 tablespoon parsley
1 bay leaf
1/2 - 1 teaspoon sugar (to taste, some people like a sweeter sauce)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon seasoning salt (I prefer Johnny's brand)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon red cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 - 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated (or parmesan or Romano blend)

Preparation

In two separate skillets or pots, brown the sausage and ground beef, and break into bite-sized chunks. Do not brown sausage and beef in the same skillet, or all the meat will taste like sausage. Drain grease well, then combine into a large stew pot and set aside.
While the meat is browning, chop all veggies into coarse pieces. Add to stew pot with all other ingredients except the parmesan cheese.
Simmer sauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours or until celery is tender. I recommend covering the pot with splatter guard to prevent splatter, but do not use a lid as the steam needs to escape.
In last 10 minutes of cooking, remove bay leaf, stir in the parmesan cheese to thicken the sauce. Use more or less to desired thickness.