Pasta with Meat Sauce

I grow tomatoes in my garden and freeze them in quart size freezer bags. I put them in boiling water for a minute to pop the skins off, but you can freeze them whole and do that when you use them. I like to make my own pasta sauce so that it doesn't contain sugar.

Pasta with Meat Sauce

1 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
~1 qt. tomatoes (fresh, frozen or canned)
1 tsp. salt (1/2 tsp. if using canned tomatoes)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. Italian herb mix
1 tsp. Pasta Sprinkle (I buy this from Penzey's.)
1/4 tsp. fennel seeds
2-3 oz. tomato paste
8 oz. whole grain pasta
Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Brown ground beef, onion and garlic, drain off any fat. If meat is lean, add a tbsp. of olive oil to help brown.
2. Add tomatoes, salt, black pepper, Italian herb mix, Pasta Sprinkle (add an additional tsp. of Italian herb mix if you don’t have pasta sprinkle OR some fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, and thyme), fennel seeds, and tomato paste (helps thicken sauce).
3. Simmer at least half an hour (additional time is good).
4. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. Add to sauce and toss. Add some grated Parmesan to pasta and sauce with additional grated cheese for serving.