sauce time

making sauce has become somewhat of a regular thing at our house. 

i was never quite satisfied with the stuff in the jar, so i began to research how to make it. 

now, the boy and i use this stuff for everything: pizza, spaghetti, ziti. it even comes into play as a dip for our mozzarella sticks.

it's so good. 

_ _ _

you want to start the way so many delicious recipes begin: sauteing onions and garlic in about two tablespoons of olive oil.

mmmm. 

this makes the house smell so yummy.

just let them hang out in the oil until the onions are a little translucent and the garlic is cooked a bit.

next, add three cans of crushed tomatos. 

[san marzano is best]

just dump them in right on top of the cooked onion mixture.

then, add a few more things: dried oregano, red pepper flakes (optional), a few pinches of salt and pepper, one tube or can of tomato paste and about a half bottle of red wine. 

mmmm. 

cooking with alcohol.

it'll look something like this before you stir (although the wine isn't pictured here):

mix it all together, cover it, and turn your burner down as low as it will go.

this will help thicken everything up. 

i like to give it a stir every once in a while. and i like to keep my spoon in one of the used tomato cans so i don't make a huge mess.

you can let this sauce simmer as long as you like - the longer the better. just be sure to stir it up every once in a while. 

i usually let mine go about three hours on very low heat.

just before removing it from the heat, i add some fresh basil and let it marry for an additional thirty minutes or so. you could also add rosemary here, but i'm not a big fan of the taste, personally. totally up to you though.

and that's it!

using three cans of crushed tomatoes, i can usually get a couple of meals out of this. 

you can use an additional can of tomatoes if you want more, or take it down to two if you don't want as much.

we made baked ziti last time.

mmmm.

have you tried making your own?

check it out sometime! 

it's totally easy and miles better than the canned versions.