My Favorite Pasta Sauce

First thing you should know before I go on, I'm two-thirds through my first Whole30! The Boyfriend is not participating, although he'll eat what I cook. Thus, this recipe is paleo, gluten-free, & Whole30 approved. To keep the whole meal in line with the Whole30 plan, I served the sauce over roasted spaghetti squash. It would also be good with zucchini noodles, and honestly, it's so good that I like to eat the leftovers heated up with a spoon.

Also, if I was a real food blog, there would be pictures. Unfortunately for you, I'm not a photographer, my only camera is my iPhone, and my kitchen is usually a mess. So no pictures. Trust me, it looks like delicious pasta sauce.

Big Batch Meat & Mushroom Tomato Sauce

(This makes enough for 4 dinner servings + leftovers for snacking + a jar for the freezer)

Olive oil
2 lbs ground beef
2 small sweet onions, chopped
4 carrots, peeled & diced
4 celery stalks, diced
16 oz mushrooms, sliced or roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
2 bay leaves
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes with basil (no-salt added, if possible)
1 small can tomato paste
splash of balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper

Heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy pan, such as an enameled cast-iron dutch oven. Add ground beef & cook until brown. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onions to pan, cook until softened and starting to brown. Remove and set aside with the cooked meat.
Add more olive oil if the pan gets dry. Add carrots and celery to pan, cook until slightly softened, then add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms begin to brown.
Add garlic, dried spices, and bay leaves. Cook 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.
Add cooked meat & onions and all remaining ingredients. Stir well.
Lower heat to lowest setting on burner, cover with a heavy lid, and cook at least 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. The sauce will get better if you can cook it longer.
Taste for seasoning, season with salt or vinegar if needed.