This is to die for. Many moons ago, when I still actually ate spaghetti, I begged a friend's mom for this recipe after she made it for us for dinner one night. It's great over spaghetti squash - it neutralizes that sweet spaghetti squash taste. Don't forget the parmesan cheese.
1 lb ground beef, preferably extra-lean
1 bell pepper, diced (I prefer red)
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp each dried sage, chili powder, and salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 heaping tsp thyme
12 drops of stevia, a couple of packets of Splenda, or equiv.
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 lg can diced tomatoes
1 6-oz can tomato paste
5-6 bay leaves
Mix everything together in a pot - don't brown the meat! It has a much smoother texture this way. That's why I suggest extra lean ground beef. If you use regular, you'll have pools of beef fat. I've done it that way, and there's nothing wrong with it... it's just a little weird.
Bring it to a gentle boil, then simmer at least until the meat is cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the bay leaves.
If you do this in a crock pot, drain the tomatoes well. (Hint: save the juice for your next pot of soup.) The sauce will still be thinner than it would have been on the stove top, but it still works.
It tastes way better the next day after a night in the fridge. It freezes really well, but I rarely have enough left over to freeze.
Nutrition info: I consider 1/4 of the recipe to be a serving. It's a lot of sauce, but that's a 4 oz serving of beef. It's a hair on the carby side, but you can cut the onion, tomatoes and tomato paste a bit. You could also use a much smaller serving and just have another protein food on the side. Keep in mind that this is for the specific ingredients I used; your beef and veggies will probably vary.
Cal: 256
Fat: 12 g
Protein: 23 g
Carb: 15 total - 4 fiber = 11 net