Hands Down, The Best Spaghetti Sauce

It may be more work than emptying the contents of a bottle, but this spaghetti sauce makes me actually like eating spaghetti! Here's the recipe:

• 1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage (or 1/2 lb of both), or omit all together and go veg.
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced (or 1 8oz can sliced mushrooms)
• 2 14.5 oz cans chopped tomatoes with juice
• 1 12 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 8 oz can tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 2 Tbsp dried parsley (or 1/4 cup fresh, chopped)
• 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper (or to taste)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. minced, dried garlic

In a large skillet, brown the beef and/ or sausage until fully cooked. Drain off excess fat and put meat into a large sauce pot. In the same skillet, add oil and cook onion, garlic and mushrooms until tender. Add to the meat in the sauce pot, along with the chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir in all seasoning and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasoning if desired. Serve sauce over cooked pasta with grated Parmesan cheese.

Option: For a vegetarian marinara sauce, omit meat (duh) and add 1/2 cup each of finely diced carrots and celery to the onion mixture and cook until vegetables are tender.