From my friend Michelle {who knows true Italian} with these words:

"This is one of my signature dishes I'm known for in my family and circle of friends. My husband's friends practically lick the bowl clean when I serve this, and their wives always ask for seconds and the recipe. Kids love it, adults love it, and it uses basic ingredients most people have on hand. I served an LDS mission to Italy and this is a scaled-back version of what I ate while I lived there. Italians spend six hours simmering their sauce, I only spend one hour simmering, but the result is still great. Be sure to serve with good quality pasta (I use Barilla -- cellantani or rigatoni work the best) and some type of fresh parmesan if you can. If you have a food processor, this is a snap to pull together!"

1 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 carrot, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 TBSP fresh parsley, minced (can also use dried)
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 lb ground beef (or ground veal or pork) -- is good w/ combination if you have it, butI usually use beef
1 TBSP butter
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, pureed

1 14-oz. can chicken broth
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 lb. pasta (one box)

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add all vegetables and saute until onions are transparent and all vegetables are soft, about five or six minutes. Add minced garlic and stir one minute. Add meat into vegetable mixture and brown over medium heat.

Once meat is thoroughly browned, add pureed tomatoes and 1 TBSP butter. (I sometimes use meat I have pre-browned and frozen; just defrost in the microwave and add to the sauteed vegetables, warm thoroughly, then add the pureed tomatoes.)

Note: I use my food processor to chop all the vegetables. First put in the carrot and make sure it is chopped well, then add celery and pulse a few times, and then add the onion and pulse four or five times. You want the onion to be finely chopped but not mushy and watery. Transfer the vegetable mixture to your saute pan and then put your tomatoes in the food processor and puree them and add to the vegetables/browned meat mixture.

After adding tomatoes and butter, bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least one hour, stirringevery 10-15 minutes and adding chicken broth as needed -- about 1/3 c. at a time (by the time the one hour is up, you will have used all the stock, plus any water you need to add to keep the sauce from becoming too thick). I usually put my saute pan lid on half-way so the sauce can boil down after each infusion of chicken broth.

At the end of the hour of simmering, taste the sauce to see if it needs a little dose of sugar to combat acidity (depends on how acidic your tomatoes were). I typically don't need any sugar, but at times I have added 1/2 - 1 TBSP to taste. Also add salt and pepper at this point to taste.

When the sauce is ready, cook your pasta and drain. Once drained, put the pasta back into the empty pot and pour the sauce over the pasta. Mix well, sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese, and serve. This sauce freezes nicely, but be certain to let it completely cool before storing in a air-tight container.

ENJOY!