Homemade Marinara

Getting Saucy. 

My mother makes the best marinara. It is so simple...BUT I love lots and lots and lots of vegetables in all of my stuff...So I do what she does...but I add a bunch of vegetables...I was making a HUGE lasagna so I made a massive amount of sauce. YAY!

3 huge cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 cup onion

1/2 cup celery

3/4 cup grated carrots

2 LARGE cans of tomato sauce. Make sure it is low sodium...I don't like a lot of salt in my food generally...

1 large tomato, or a few Romas

Dried Italian Seasoning. (Fresh is fine if you fancy.)

Salt and Pepper (See your seasonings...)

Pan over medium heat, smidge of oil. Toss in the prepared vegetables, and sweat. Just until they are soft, you want a bit of texture after the sauce simmers. 

Add the Sauce! Stir, bring to a boil...then turn it down to a simmer.

Cut your tomato and add it to the sauce. It will provide you with a slightly more rustic and homemade texture. People will think you made your own sauce from the get go...TRICKY.

Sprinkle a generous amount of pre-mixed Italian seasoning...You can use a fresh mix of herbs and spices too...but yeah, that isn't how my mom does it, and this was in my cupboard...

Stir it all in and let it simmer for a really long time...hours. Stir occasionally. (If you don't have hours fine, just do it for a while...but the flavor will be way better and the sauce will be SOOOOO much better if you let it roll for a long time...Good way to do this is in the crockpot...Think about it.)

Since you will be waiting so long I suggest you eat something...like this sandwich for example...

Still cooking...

Serve it with your meal, or let it cool completely before putting it in the fridge for later use.

I chose to use it to make this ridiculous Lasagna...for which the recipe will be added in due time. As a preview I will let you know that it has...Tofurky Italian sausage, spinach, mushrooms, cashew ricotta, and freshly sliced tomatoes...Yeah...It was by far the best lasagna I have every had...and I almost never say that about anything I make...