Recipe--Authentic Italian Spagetti Sauce

Today the weather is turning colder. For me that is time to cook soup from scratch, make spaghetti, lasagne, etc--comfort foods! So I thought I'd send my recipe for spaghetti sauce. I have used it for more than 25 years and we think it is the best. When I got the recipe it said it was an authenic Italian recipe. Yeah, I've heard that one before too. But I learned later that it was. We were in a gospel meeting at Fort Bragg, NC. A military couple asked us to eat supper with them. The girl asked if we liked spaghetti. Well, few people do not like spaghetti. When we arrived for supper, she told me her husband's parents had come to the US from Italy and this was her mother's-in-law authentic recipe. Remembering my "authentic" recipe, I asked her if she'd share with me how she made it. Yipe!! My recipe. So it is authentic. My recipe came from Columbia Academy Associates, Columbia, TN. The recipes takes 4+ hours to make, so it is not for the faint of heart. I double the recipe and freeze the sauce. For me it makes about 4 quarts, recipe doubled.  I am giving the original recipe, so you will have to double the ingredients if that is your desire.

Pietrantonia's Italian Spaghetti Sauce

2 cans of No. 2 tomatoes, 1 can equals about 2 1/2 cups
1/3 green pepper
3 sprigs of parsley, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
1 teaspoon thyme
1 clove garlic, I mince the garlic
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs ground beef  (can use 1 1/4 lbs beef and 1/4 lb ground pork)
3 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 whole onion
1 can (8 oz) mushrooms--optional

Mix first 6 ingredients listed and cook for 1 hour. While this is cooking, brown meat and salt to taste.
In a large pot, put first mixture through a sieve. I use a Foley food mill, the one with the crank on top. You could use a blender or food processor and then put through the sieve. To this mixture add the sauce, paste, onion and mushrooms, and meat. cook for three hours. Remove onion. Mixture may be kept in the refrigerator or frozen.
I do not put the mushrooms in and cook them for 3 hours, I put them in the last hour. This mixture is too much for my dutch oven if I double the recipe, so I add the remainder as it cooks down. I freeze it in one quart freezer containers and it keeps well.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is the only one I use now.