This spaghetti sauce recipe is unlike any I've had anywhere else. It's derived from a family recipe that my father taught me and was the first real cooking I ever learned to do.

The full evolution of this sauce recipe came about accidentally: my mother was on a low-glycemic diet and so, instead of eating the sauce with pasta, she would have it served over sautéed strips of onion and bell pepper, with extra mushrooms and sausage. This combination was so tasty I decided to start incorporating it regularly, making a sauce thick enough to be a meal on its own.

If you're on a low-glycemic (low simple carb) diet like my mom was, you can eat this sauce with little or no pasta for an extremely satisfying, healthy meal.

Please note: red pepper can be omitted if you don't want a spicy sauce. Also, you can leave out the sausage if you'd like to do this as a vegetarian recipe, and it's still very good.

For this recipe, you will need:

1 14 Oz can tomato sauce
1 14 Oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
1 large bell pepper
1 half of a medium-sized onion
3 or 4 cloves garlic
Two Italian sausages (much better than hamburger)
1/4 cup canned mushrooms or 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms
olive oil
3 t dried basil, or five leaves fresh
1/2 t ground oregano
1/2 t dried age
1/2 t dried thyme
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
balsamic vinegar
white wine

Begin by slicing half onion and bell pepper into desired size and shape. If not already sliced, slice mushrooms. Slice half of the garlic into thin cross-sections. Grate, press, or mince remaining garlic and set aside.

Either slice sausage into cross-sections, or remove from casing entirely, depending upon your preference.

Coat a large pan with olive oil. Place over stove and set to medium. Allow to heat until sizzling.

Fry sausage, stirring as it cooks. If sausage is uncased, be sure to keep it from clumping. Sausage is cooked when it changes color entirely from pink to gray.

When sausage is fully cooked, add onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, and sliced garlic. Stir while frying.

As vegetable mixture is frying, season with salt and pepper. Add herbs and remaining garlic. Continue to cook for a few more minutes.

Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar and white wine.

Once sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat and let simmer for at least a half an hour. The longer this sauce simmers, the better the flavor will be. Add small amounts of water to replenish the liquid as it cooks off.

Serve with pasta. Serves 4.