Hearty Meat Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 large bay leaf 
• 13.8 ounce no-salt-added beef broth canned
• 0.8 cup celery chopped
• 0.5 teaspoon thyme leaves dried
• 0.3 cup parsley fresh chopped
• 1 large clove garlic minced
• 1.8 pounds ground round 
• 29 ounce no-salt-added tomatoes whole undrained chopped canned
• 1 cup onion chopped
• 0.5 teaspoon pepper 
• 0.3 teaspoon salt 
• 6 ounce no-salt-added tomato paste canned

Equipment

• paper towels
• ziploc bags
• dutch oven

Directions

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large Dutch oven; cook over medium-high heat until meat is browned, stirring until it crumbles.
2. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Wipe drippings from Dutch oven with a paper towel.
3. Return meat mixture to Dutch oven; add tomato and next 6 ingredients, stirring well. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add parsley; cook 5 minutes.
5. Remove and discard bay leaf.
6. Spoon 1 1/2 cups sauce into each of 5 labeled heavy-duty, zip-top plastic bags. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week or in freezer up to 3 months.