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1
Peel tomatoes and add to large pot.
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2
This is easily done by dropping them into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes then plunging them into ice water for another 5 minutes.
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3
The peels will come off easily.
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4
Be careful not to lose the juice while peeling.
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5
Chop 1 green pepper and 1 onion (peeled) and add to tomatoes.
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6
Add 1/2 of the mushrooms, whole.
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7
Add salt, sugar and other spices.
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8
Bring to boil and simmer for 1/2 hour, stirring often to prevent scorching.
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9
Cut 1/4 of the sausage into pieces.
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10
In separate pan, add 1/2 of the olive oil and brown the sausage.
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11
Add sausage, including the fat, to the simmering vegetables.
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12
Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stir often.
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13
Cut remaining sausage and olive oil into 3 inch sections and brown in pan.
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14
Add to sauce.
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15
You can add as much or as little of the fat back into the sauce.
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16
The amount of fat you have depends on the sausage you use.
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17
Simmer another 10 minutes and serve over your favorite pasta.
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18
Sauce can easily scorch on the bottom of the pot, so it is important to simmer on low/medium heat and stir often.
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19
Hamburger, meat balls, chicken or turkey sausage can be substituted for the Italian sausage, or you can skip the meet and add the olive oil directly to the sauce.
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20
You can also add almost any vegetable you want.
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21
Leftovers can be frozen.
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22
In the off season, you can use canned whole, peeled tomatoes.
