Easy Spaghetti Sauce

If there is one thing that my whole family loves, it’s Italian food.  I am always looking for new ideas and recipes to satisfy our craving for Italian.  Up until a few years ago, I always purchased the jarred spaghetti sauce, almost always with a coupon.  It was fairly inexpensive and made for a fast meal on busy nights.  When our family started growing, I noticed that we needed to use more than one jar of sauce at every meal, especially if I needed leftovers for my husband’s lunch the next day.  Plus, we have some sort of pasta at least once a week, sometimes twice.  So, I began making my own sauce. 

I don’t really know why I wasn’t making my own sauce all along.  For one thing, I grew up on only homemade sauce.  My mom almost never used a jar of spaghetti sauce.  Secondly, it is much more cost efficient to make it.  The ingredients cost less than two jars of sauce, which is what I had been using. 

So, we are now a homemade spaghetti sauce family.  I use this recipe for spaghetti, lasagna, baked ziti, and just about any other dish that needs a red sauce.  I still resort to the jar every once in a while, especially if there is a fantastic sale.  But more likely than not, I am either making this sauce or defrosting it from my freezer.

Ingredients:

• One large can of crushed tomatoes
• One can tomato paste
• One can of diced tomatoes
• One small onion, chopped fine
• One tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion.  Sauté until the onions are just starting to cook.
2. Add the tomato paste and half a can of water.  Stir until combined.
3. Add the diced tomatoes and the spinach.  I always mash these a bit with a potato masher so my kids don’t detect them as well.   

1. Add the crushed tomatoes.
2. Add the spices, cheese, salt, and pepper.
3. Stir it together and let the sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Simmer it longer if possible to concentrate the flavors.

That’s it.  This sauce is a one-pot-wonder, and it makes quite a bit.  If you don’t use it all, it freezes very well.