It’s inevitable – every so often, my kids will ask for Lasagna.. or, Spaghetti. A household favorite. I’ll reach into the pantry and say “Oh NO.”
There is no sauce.
Obviously, it’s easier at times to just buy the 6 pk of Bertolli Organic Pasta Sauce at Costco and have it readily available when my kids ask for pasta sauce. But in this case, I did not have any and so it meant either making it myself or telling the kids they would have to wait… another day.
So as to avoid the tears, it was easier to just avoid the tears and make it myself. This recipe is easy – it gives you a chance to use up your produce as well.
- 4 - 14.5 oz cans stewed tomatoes
- 1 - 4 oz can tomato paste
- 1/2 C. water
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 c. mushrooms, sliced - optional
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 C. parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 4 oz parmesan cheese wedge or, pepper jack cheese, cubed
- 2 drops Basil vitality essential oil - we use Young Living
- 1 tsp salt - or, to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or, 2 drops Black Pepper Vitality essential oil
- In your dutch oven, add the oil, garlic, mushrooms, and onion and saute 4-5 minutes until soft/cooked through.
- Add the stewed tomatoes to your blender and blend to your liking (we like ours slightly chunky so we don't blend too long).
- Pour the tomato blend in the dutch oven, add the tomato paste, 1/2 C. water, and sugar and simmer on low/medium until well blended.
- Mix in parsley and cheese and continue to simmer to allow the cheese to melt into the sauce.
- Add pepper, oregano, salt and basil (or, essential oil) to taste and serve over pasta.
- If not serving immediately, transfer to canning jars and immediately refrigerate up to 4 days, or freeze up to 1 month.
- If you prefer to use fresh tomatoes, you can substitute 2 1/2 lbs for the canned. Take the stems out and drop them in boiling water until the skins start to separate. Remove and plunge in cold water. Remove the skins and put in the blender - blend to your liking.
If you don’t have a dutch oven, it’s wonderful for making soups, sauces (like this) – we also use ours for this 30-minute Mole. You can find this Tramontina Dutch Oven on Amazon.
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