My grandfather was Italian, so my spaghetti recipe is an adaptation of his...the problem is, I don't measure anything! So it's hard to give it out! Here is what I put in my sauce! (It always get raves!!!)
Brown hamburger & bite-sized pieces of Italian sausage (I use hot, but can use mild)
In olive oil saute onion, green pepper (and red, if desired!), garlic and celery.
Combine above with jars of spaghetti sauce (I used to make from scratch the base, but find it's really better by using a premade sauce as the base!), canned tomatoes, cut in bite sized pieces, and tomato paste. (Again, I don't measure precisely....I always make a HUGE batch, so I will use several cans of each of the above.)
Then....the spices...which are the key!!! Add a couple of bay leaves (leave whole...when finished cooking, pull them out!), crushed red pepper, fennel seed, salt & pepper, a sprinkling of sugar (not much....just enough to cut the acid in the tomatoes), crushed oregano leaves, Italian seasoning, and a little cinnamon. Trust me! Each spice is important to the mix!
I like to mix the whole thing up, stick in in a roasting pan (I use one for turkeys...again, huge!), cover it, and bake it on low for several hours. If I'm going to be home all day, then I will mix it in the morning, put it on at 300* and let it bake most of the day. Stir every once in a while!
If you prefer, you can cook it on top of the stove. I just find that it cooks slower and more evenly in the oven. You can "walk away" and not worry about the bottom burning, if you bake it in a low oven. The result in the oven is a thicker, richer sauce.
I hope you will experiment with my recipe! Let me know if you do and the results!!!