Spaghetti Meat Sauce

I made this and poured it on the Spaghetti Squash that I substituted for pasta. We loved this pasta sauce! I usually do Prego, so this was a nice change!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I just had 1 lb)
2 Tblsp Olive Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (to taste)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. dried basil (I had fresh and used that and it worked great!)
1 tsp. italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
ground pepper
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 (16 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in butter (optional) (I did without this cuz I didn't have mushrooms on hand)
parmesan cheese, freshly grated (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Brown the ground beef, onion and garlic in olive oil with bay leaves, oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
2. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.
3. Stir well and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
4. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. (I'm impatient and think I only did 45 mins. for this, turned out great still!)
5. Use sauce to top your cooked spaghetti. (spaghetti squash)
6. Top with sautéed mushrooms and parmesan.

Thanks to Bev for the recipe! Original recipe HERE.