Bolognese Sauce

I made this sauce for a spaghetti pie, but I liked it so much I thought I'd post it again by itself. I think it would be really yummy in lasagna, sloppy joes, spaghetti, or by itself! It makes a big batch, so plan on freezing half of it for later use!

* 2 lbs. Hot Italian Sausage (I used mild)
* 2 lbs. ground beef (from freezer)
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 lg. yellow onion, diced (from freezer)
* 1 green pepper, diced
* 2 stalks celery, diced
* 2 cans crushed tomatoes (28 oz.)
* 1 bay leaf
* 3 T. dried oregano
* 2 T. dried basil
* 2 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. pepper
* 1 cup dry red wine (optional)
* 2 cans tomato paste (6 oz. each)
* 1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Remove sausage from casing. Place in pan with 1/4 cup water and crumble with spoon while browning. When cooked, drain in colander and rinse with very hot water (this washes the extra grease off); set aside.

Brown ground beef, drain, rinse as above, and set aside.

Heat olive oil in dutch oven. Saute celery, onion, and pepper until tender. Add sausage, beef, tomatoes, bay leaf, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer covered for an hour. Add wine, tomato paste and cinnamon. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.


***Bobbi's Note: When I made this, I completely forgot to add the tomato paste and the cinnamon. I thought it was very delicious without it!! I'm anxious to see if it's even better with all the ingredients! (not likely)