• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 4 - 6 cloves garlic pressed
• 1 or more tablespoons dried oregano and dried basil
• Olive oil
• 1 pound zucchini finely grated or chopped
• 1 number 10 can diced tomatoes (about 12 cups)
• 1 small can tomato paste
• Salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar to taste

1. Directions:
2. Start browning beef in the olive oil in a big pot. Add the garlic, oregano, basil, and zucchini and continue browning. When nicely browned, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer over low heat until it is as thick as you like, 10 minutes or hours.
3. Serve over spaghetti with garlic bread, use in lasagna, with stuffed shells, or any other application that suits you.
4. Leftover sauce freezes very well and can be heated up on the stovetop at a later date.
5. Variation: This also works very well with ground turkey.
6. Background:
7. This is a classic Italian-American recipe with a twist. My mother is allergic to onions, so she always made it with zucchini instead. I love it that way, and make it the same way. If you prefer, you can use onion instead of or in addition to the zucchini.

This is a classic Italian-American recipe with a twist. My mother is allergic to onions, so she always made it with zucchini instead. I love it that way, and make it the same way. If you prefer, you can use onion instead of or in addition to the zucchini.