Pasta Sauces

[cougars_catnip]

My two favorite tomato sauces are easy to make and taste so good you will never go back to buying them in a jar.

 

Marinara Sauce

2 med. onions, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery minced
1 carrot, peeled and minced
1 package sliced crimini ( baby portabella) mushrooms, approximately two cups
2 Tbsp olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced, approximately 2 Tbsp.
2 Tbsp dried herbs such as basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme.
2 dried bay leaves
1/2 cup red wine
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes ( if the tomatos are very acidic, add a couple tbsp. sugar to counteract it)
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, heat up the olive oil just until it starts to shimmer. Add the onions, celery, mushrooms and carrot and cook slowly, on medium heat until the onions caramelize and the rest of the vegetables are tender.  Add the garlic and dried herbs and cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the 1/2 cup of red wine and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and their juice and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook on low, stirring occasionally for about 2 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. If sauce is too thin you can thicken it with the addition of tomato paste. This sauce freezes very well.

 

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Spaghetti Sauce

 

1 can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes ( I like the ones with garlic and onion already in them )

1 can tomato paste

1/2 can beef stock

2 c. sliced baby portabella mushrooms

1 onion chopped

2- 4 cloves of garlic minced. ( I use the type already minced in a jar and use a heaping spoonful )

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. marjoram

1/2 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. thyme

2 bay leaves

1 lb. ground beef.

Saute vegetables until onions are translucent and mushrooms are tender.
Brown ground beef and drain well.
Throw all the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.  Add pasta of choice. This sauce is even better the next day.
 

Comments

[zana16]

Sounds delicious! Thank you.

[cougars_catnip]

Welcome. :) they both are very nummy and as I said so easy to make why buy a jar? They can be thrown together with pantry stuff and they taste even better the next day. And best of all they are WAY cheaper to make than to buy the premade stuff so Win/ Win! \O/ Oh and both of these freeze beautifully so you can make a huge batch and have multiple meals.

hugs
CC

[jjhunter]

These are wonderful - thank you for sharing!

This post prompted me to write up one for boilingwater I've been thinking about for some time - would you be interested in contributing your expertise?

boilingwater: What Makes For a Good Tomato Soup vs Tomato Sauce Recipe?