Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

My mom loved to cook, and she was good at it. She would often take a recipe and modify it to make it better. This is one such case. She got this recipe out of a small cookbook for recipes using Hunt's tomato paste. I remember seeing the original cookbook, with her recipe changes noted out to the side. Growing up, I learned how to make it, and have since memorized her version - don't know what the original was cause we never made that!


1 lb ground beef
1/2 c chopped bell pepper
1 T instant onion

2 6 oz cans tomato paste, plus 7 cans hot water
1 t oregano
1 t Italian seasoning
1/4 t pepper
2 t salt
1 t sugar
3/4-1 c Heinz ketchup

brown meat, onion and bell pepper. Add remaining ingredients - do not drain off grease (yet)
Mix well, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 45 min to 1 hr
As sauce cooks, dip grease off top of surface with a spoon. Serve with cooked pasta of your choice.
I have also used other ground meats such as turkey and deer successfully.