Spaghetti Sauce

Every summer and fall my mom and I do a lot of canning. We make salsa, pickles, tomatoes, peaches, pears, apple sauce, cranberry sauce, and whatever else we want to try that year. Though it is expensive to start up and involves the need of a lot of storage space, after the second or third year, the cost is so minimal you'll wonder why you never did it before!

The only thing I do with my tomatoes is make sauce. Every year I think I should just make giant pots of sauce to can, but I prefer to make it from scratch when I make spaghetti. There is just something satisfying about not adding all the ingredients and not just opening a can.

Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients: I use this amount to make sauce for 2-3 people. Double it for a family size.

1 jar/can of whole tomatoes, skin removed and juice mostly drained and smooshed to a chunky sauce consistency (I use my hand to do this)
1 can of tomato sauce
Italian spices of your liking. I use basil (fresh when I have it) parsley, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves
salt and pepper
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic
ground meat of your choice (we use turkey or 93% lean ground beef)
oil

In a medium pan, cook the meat with the garlic and onion. Drain any fat.

Mean while, in a large sauce pan, carefully (tomatoes are slippery things when coming out of a jar/can) pour the smooshed tomatoes, tomato sauce; add the seasonings and salt and pepper. Simmer until the meat is ready to add. If you use bay leaves, remove before serving. When the meat is ready, add it to the sauce and stir together. Voila! Spaghetti sauce!

It takes a little extra prep time, but as far as cook time, it's no longer than a regular jar of tomato sauce. Plus, now you can season it how YOU want and make it match your tastes.