Tomato Sauce

Since my wonderful husband bought me a cast iron dutch oven (if you don't put the "cast iron" in there you'll get some giggles) I decided I wanted to make a batch of my own spaghetti sauce. I typically just throw some tomato stuff together and call it a day. I have always wanted to simmer it and make enough to freeze for future spaghetti nights.

I Googled and found this recipe:

LARGE BATCH: Spaghetti Sauce

You’ll need a BIG pot – I use my 6 quart stainless.

1 – large #10 can (105 oz) tomato sauce
4 – 6oz cans tomato paste
4 tablespoons parsley
4 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil (I don’t measure – just use enough to saute the onions)
2 cups chopped onion (or more)
1/2 to 1 tablespoon salt (more or less – cook for a while and then adjust to your taste)
4 1/2 teaspoons basil
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground oregano
3 cups water

3 to 6 tablespoons sugar – some cans of tomato sauce are a little sweeter and require less sugar – every batch is different (you can even leave the sugar out completely if you want – we like just a touch of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato)

Simmer onions in olive oil until translucent, add other ingredients and let simmer until you’re ready to serve. (Simmer at least 2 to 4 hours.  If your crockpot is big enough, you might get all of this in there!)

Kiddo doesn’t like pieces of onion in anything, but loves the flavor, so I puree the onions after sauteing.

I also normally add a few dashes of Cavender’s Greek Seasoning and some garlic powder to this as well (we love garlic!).   It’s cheaper to make a big batch, and it tastes so much better than the commercial stuff!

I made it exactly like this, and I think it turned out great. 

I will guess I ended up with around 12 cups. I didn't measure all that well. It was a lot though, and I still have two bags in the freezer.

It is super convenient. Yesterday I had some chicken I needed to cook before it went bad, so I threw it in the crock pot, added one of my half-bags of sauce and a block of cream cheese. I put in some Italian seasonings too, and it smelled delicious. I haven't tried it yet, but I know it will be good.

If you're looking for a super easy and yummy Sloppy Joe recipe, check out The Nifty Foodie's recipe. We had this for lunch yesterday and it was good.