I simply don’t understand why people buy spaghetti sauce in a jar.  Oh, I know it’s convenient and all that but do you know how simple it is to make your own?  AND you know exactly what you put in it. I will confess that I wing this recipe, which means you add as much or as little of the seasonings as you like. Sometimes I add the thyme, basil, oregano and rosemary, while other times I don’t.

My daughter loves this stuff.  Sometimes she’ll eat the pasta plain and cover her Italian bread with it like bruschetta.

I also use this sauce, with a little tomato paste added to the leftovers, as pizza sauce.

I’m still hunting for a wonderful pizza dough recipe if you have one to share.

Margaret’s Marinara

2 cans 14.5-oz. diced tomatoes (Hunts)

2 cans 15-oz tomato sauce (Hunts)

Dried minced onion

Italian seasoning (McCormick)

Thyme

Basil

Oregano

Rosemary, crushed

Garlic powder, or minced garlic if you have it (mine is usually sprouting leaves so I have a fallback)

Salt

Pepper

Toss everything into a pot, heat over medium until bubbling. Using a hand blender, chop the tomatoes up.  If using nonstick, be careful not to scratch your cooking pot. Angle lid to allow steam to escape and keep napalm tomato blurps contained. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When it thickens or starts to stick, turn off heat and remove lid to allow steam to escape.  

Pay your spouse to clean up tomato mess that will inevitably happen to your stove.

Enjoy!