Although I'm Italian, I rarely eat Italian food, don't ask me why. But the other day I got hungry for a hearty sauce and since I hadn't planned to make a hearty sauce, I improvised with what I had on hand. Although my pot luck meals aren't usually edible, this sauce turned out to be the best I ever made, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

POT LUCK SAUCE

1 Pound ground beef - 80%

1/2 Pound sweet Italian sausage

Peppers -- I used green, red, yellow and orange

Carrots - I used 1/3 bag of shredded carrots.

Celery - 4 stalks

Garlic - 3 cloves

1 Can Sliced Mushrooms

I Can Pitted Black Olives

I Can Stewed Tomatoes

I Jar of Marinara Sauce -- I used Francesco Rinaldi

Kraft Shake Parmesan Cheese

Romano Cheese Rind

Red Wine - I used Merlot

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Season the beef and sausage with salt and pepper and brown it in a deep pot.

When done, remove the meat from the pot and drain it on a paper towel.

Saute peppers, carrots, celery, garlic, mushrooms and black olives until soft.

Stir in stewed tomatoes and heat through.

Put the meat back into the pot with the vegetables. Season to taste.

Stir in one jar of sauce and 1/2 jar of water.

Heat through.

Add in a couple of healthy shakes of Parmesan cheese.

Throw in the left over rind from whatever fresh hard Italian cheese you have on hand. I used Romano.

Add in a healthy splash of whatever red wine you have on hand.

Simmer for an hour.

If the sauce gets too thick, add water, or more wine, if you like a little buzz with your sauce.

Serve over your favorite pasta. I used Five Cheese Tortellini.

Top with freshly shredded romano chesse.

Heaven!