Homemade Marinara Sauce

Italian food is made pretty frequently at my home.  I have my favorite brand of pasta sauce, but since buying jarred pasta sauces can get expensive, I decided to take a shot at my own homemade marinara.  I tried a homemade pizza sauce several years ago and ended up with a bland tomato sauce, but I knew that with some time to simmer I could make something great.




To make the sauce, I decided to use some canned tomatoes, tomato paste, mushrooms and herbs to see what I could come up with.


I started by adding some minced garlic and a can of mushrooms in a non-stick skillet with some olive oil and browning them for a few minutes (you'll have to excuse the terrible photo I got of this part).

Next, I stirred in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, water, brown sugar, minced onion, oregano, parsley, garlic salt, basil, and bay leaves.  I let the sauce heat to a simmer, then changed the heat to low.

I let the sauce cook for 30 minutes, stirring it occasionally to prevent it from burning to the pan.  It smelled delicious and the color had darkened slightly.

I served the sauce over some vegetable spaghetti for a completely delicious homemade meal.

My husband came home from work and immediately commented on how good the sauce smelled.  At dinner we were both impressed--basic homemade marinara is a breeze!  The sauce came out very thick, but my husband was happy with that because he said the sauce coats the spaghetti better rather than just sliding right off.  I plan on adding maybe 1/2 cup additional water next time, but the flavor was amazing and the brown sugar added the perfect touch.  All it takes is a little bit of time to cook and you can end up with a delicious homemade sauce.

Homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can of mushrooms (4 ounces)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 can tomato paste (12 ounces)
1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounces)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon bay leaves

Instructions:
Heat a nonstick skillet to medium heat and add some olive oil. Add mushrooms and garlic and brown for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, water, brown sugar, minced onion, oregano, parsley, garlic salt, basil, and bay leaves and heat to a simmer. Lower heat and cook for 30 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring ocassionally. Serve over cooked pasta.