Sunday Night Sauce

Hello my blogi's. I do apologize for my extended absence. I found myself quite sick, not with the flu, but something just as bad, if not worse, on Valentine's day. Luckily for me, this sickness lasted over a week. Now, let's get right back to things here.

We have a Sunday night tradition here. It's actually my family's tradition, which I happily brought along with me when I moved. Each and ever Sunday we have pasta with gravy. No, not the gravy you put on mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving, gravy in this sense means tomato sauce.

Dinner prep on Sunday begins early in the morning. Before breakfast is made, sauce is being started.

Feel free to use this recipe as a guideline. You can customize your sauce to your owns taste and texture likes. For example, you can use two cans of tomato sauce if you want something a little thinner. Or, you can use two cans of crushed tomatoes if you want something a little chunkier. Experiment until you find the combination you like. Additionally, you can add whatever dried spices you prefer. I always use dried herbs, but if I have fresh herbs around, I use those also.

Gravy (aka Sauce)
Serves 2 (with some leftovers)

• olive oil to coat


• 1 large onion, chopped


• 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped


• 1 28 oz can tomato sauce


• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes


• 1 6 oz can tomato paste


• garlic powder, to taste


• dried Italian seasonings blend, to taste


• crushed red pepper, to taste


• 1 lb pasta


• Italian bread for dipping

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onions, cook until soft about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic, cook until just barely browned. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, mix well. Bring to a rapid simmer, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Add the garlic powder, Italian seasonings and crushed red pepper, then cover. You can let the sauce sit like this, covered on low heat, all day. Once you are ready to eat, taste and season again if needed. Boil your pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, do not rinse, then mix pasta into the sauce until completely covered. Serve and top with an extra scoop of sauce. Dunk and scoop your extra sauce with the Italian bread. Serve with a nice side salad.

My favorite thing to do as a kid was to take a piece of Italian bread, spread it with butter and pile my spaghetti on top. Then I folded the piece of bread in half and voila! Spaghetti sandwich!

Now, seriously. Stop buying that jarred crap and make your own.