Recently I started making our spaghetti sauce from scratch. It was an effort to use up the random cans of tomatoes in my pantry that have been hanging out forever and stop using the no flavor HFCS laden jarred stuff. One recipe makes enough for 3-4 dinners for our family of 7, so keep that in mind. If you have a smaller family, you’ll get quite a few meals out of it.
This is the base recipe, then I’ll tell you what else I do to it!
From Scratch Spaghetti Sauce:
4T Olive oil
1 large onion, diced
8 garlic cloves, crushed
#10 can of crushed tomatoes (I get it at Sam’s) or 4-28oz cans
4- 6oz cans of tomato paste
1/4 c. red wine or red wine venegar
4T. sugar
1T salt
2t. pepper
5T italian seasoning (basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary)
2 c hot water
Heat oil in large stockpot. Sautee onion and garlic until garlic is light brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, except water, stirring well after each addition. Add water last, adding more or less depending on how thick you want your sauce. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature and put into jars. Store in fridge for up to 2 months. May also be frozen.
I use this as a vehicle for whatever veggies in my fridge need using up. I’ve put in mushrooms, green peppers, zucchini, spinach, etc. with no ill effects. I also put about 3X more garlic in than the recipe calls for because we’re garlic FIENDS over here. It’s VERY versatile sauce and the flavor is outstanding! Once it’s done cooking and cooling, I give it a whirl through the food processor just to break down the big chunks of anything that’s in it.
The picture above is the batch I made up for hubby’s lunches. One batch made 17 baggies of sauce, which hubby told me will actually feed him for 2 days. I put the baggies in the freezer, then before he leaves for work I cook up some pasta, put it in a container and put the baggie of sauce on top still frozen. The heat from the fresh pasta thaws the sauce by lunchtime!
This is now all the sauce we eat, and my parents have invaded it as well. My dad said if there is ever a “Best Spaghetti Sauce” competition, that this is what needs to win. He cracks me up. Hope you try it! And if you have a favorite freezerable recipe, share it in the comments! I’m looking for more good ones!!!
