Daily Plate: Mom's Marinara Sauce

My mom isn’t remotely Italian (I get it from my dad), but she makes the best marinara sauce I’ve tasted. I used to buy jarred sauce until she shared her super-easy recipe with me. You can make as small or large a batch as you like.  Use it with pasta or add into soups and stews.  You can adapt it to suit almost any dish. You can add other veggies in when you’re making the sauce, but I prefer to throw things in as needed later, depending on what I’m making on a given night. I like having a nice, basic sauce to work with.

Every month or so I make a big pot of it and store it in the freezer. It’s so much cheaper than buying jarred sauce, not to mention tastier!


Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 c any vegetables you fill like adding (zucchini, carrot, mushroom, etc)
2-3 28 oz cans tomatoes (chopped, whole diced, etc)
2-3 cloves garlic (or more)
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp basil (optional)
1/4 grated parm (if you're not cooking for vegans)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat oil on medium to medium-high heat.
Saute chopped onion in heated oil until translucent. Add diced garlic and cook another 30 seconds or so.
Add other veggies and cook until somewhat soft.
Add tomatoes, oregano, and basil. Cook down for a while on low.
Periodically stir and break up any large pieces of tomato.
Add cheese and simmer on low for a bit longer until sauce reaches desired thickness.
Salt and pepper to taste.