Behind every recipe is a story: Mom's Spaghetti

My Mom had this great recipe for spaghetti!  She would make it once a month or so all my teenage years, and I would devour it in several sittings (it was enough for several meals).

We never had store bought spaghetti and even to this day, I cannot eat spaghetti at a restaurant, because it's not "Mom's Spaghetti."

My Mom knew what I did and did not like and most spaghetti sauces have huge chunks of onions in it, and I do NOT like onions.  If I take a bite of something and can feel an onion on my tongue, I spit it out, and push my plate away. YUCK!

I always visited my parents a couple of weekends a month while I was in college.  This one particular weekend, my Mom asked me what I wanted to eat and of course I said, "Mom's Spaghetti."

During the late afternoon on Saturday, I come flying through the kitchen to go into the backyard and I stop dead in my tracks.

"Mom, what are you doing!?!"  I say with a raised, upset voice.

"You KNOW I don't like onions!"

There they were, 2-3 big round onions sitting on the carving board.

"Melinda," she shares, "I've been putting onions in the spaghetti all these years, Honey."

I look at her dumbfounded.

"What?" I now say in a whispering, deflated, disappointed voice.

She continues, "I put them in the blender and the onion purees and you can't see it or feel it in your mouth. I've been doing it for years."

"You have?"

"Yes, and you never noticed, so you better eat dinner," she demanded.

I ate dinner that night (carefully at first) and it was still VERY tasty and Mom was right, I could not tell there were onions in it.

Years later, I get her spaghetti recipe from her because I'm craving the awesome taste of it.  I go to the grocery store and on the list for the spaghetti is "Two Medium Yellow Onions."

"Two medium yellow onions," I repeat in my head.

I am in the fresh vegetables area and I walk up to the onions.  I see there are white kinds and yellow kinds.

Medium?

WTH would be a "medium?"

Being as I HATE onions, I have never bought an onion before in my life.  Medium?  I tried my best to pick two medium yellow onions and went on my way with the rest of the recipe ingredients down the list.

I got home and made the spaghetti, putting the onions in the blender with the cans of whole tomatoes. Blending for a LONG time to ensure the onions aren't even visible, lol.

Turns out, now I buy even MORE onions for Mom's Spaghetti.  :)  Little did I know that's what gives the sauce it's sweet taste!   Two mediums will no longer suffice. :)

Mom's Spaghetti Recipe:

1 pound of hamburger

2 each-6oz can of Hunts tomato paste and sauce

2 can Hunts whole, peeled tomatoes (28oz)

2 yellow medium onions (blend in blender with whole tomatoes)

4 pinches of sweet basil and oregano

2 leaves of bay (not turkish)

4 pinches italian seasoning

3 pinches of (fine,ground)

4 pinches of minced garlic

1 cup of red win