My favorite food is spaghetti. If you have read this blog for any amount of time, you will know this. I am certain I have shared the story of me eating spaghetti every week night of my freshman year of college. I have 3 friends that will testify to that. I also ate it every night of my sophmore year. It was cheap and easy. I could spend $5 and eat all week. My old roommates can testify to that.
Now, I don't eat it every night anymore, because I have grown up, my grocery budget is bigger and I am not certain my husband or kids would go for it. Until...this week...
When we changed the way we ate (cutting out processed food and grains and dairy), I tossed out my jarred pasta sauce and didn't think I would be able to eat spaghetti again. I tried making my own sauce and it was nothing compared to my Prego I always bought. So, I gave up.
A friend of mine posted a picture of her homemade sauce on Instagram, and I spoke to her about it. She told me what she put in it and that she didn't measure.
That was my style. I don't measure unless I am baking.
So, I used her guidelines and made my own. It was so, so, so yummy. However, my version was still missing something. I still preferred it over store bought and truthfully, I thought it was the best ever.
I added a few more ingredients and well...my husband and kids have been asking for spaghetti every night. Win for me!!
I thought I would share with you my recipe, because it is that good. THIS recipe is the best ever.
Please keep in mind that I do not measure. The measurements are all rough measurements. If this makes you really nervous, have someone else do this for you. Not measuring makes my husband nervous, so I know there are people out there that can't handle it. And it is ok. :)
Also, there is only one brand of pasta our family can eat without our stomachs killing us. It is an Italian brand and more than likely is processed differently than the other brand we have in the store. I can only find it at one store. If I remember next time, I will post the brand name. It is nice to have for those very rare occasions we eat pasta.
Kitchen Sink Spaghetti Sauce
2 cans (15oz) of diced tomatoes-organic
2 cans (15oz) tomato sauce- organic
1 can (6oz) tomato paste- organic
*A handful of fresh chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
2-3 carrots, chopped
1-2 zucchini, chopped
a handle full of fresh spinach
a pitted date or two
half a handful of chopped mushrooms
1/3 bell pepper, chopped
1-2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
a dash of red pepper flakes
**1 tsp oregano (dried)
**1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 c water if needed
*You do not have to add these, but fresh tomatoes elevate the flavor.
**If you have fresh herbs like oregano, basil, etc, use them. Your measurements will be different than if they were dried. I would just add a few leaves of each herb.
Now, here is the easy part. Do you have a slow cooker? Throw it all in and turn on low. Let it cook for 6-8 hours. Before you are ready to serve, puree the sauce together. This is the only way I will eat it and probably my kids too. Most of the ingredients above, I do not like on their own.
If you do not want to wait all day, which it fine, you can easily cook this over the stove top. But, I would saute the chopped onion, minced garlic, mushrooms and tomato paste until tender and then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring it to a slow boil, turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 1-2 hours stirring occasionally.
I do not have the patience to do that and prefer to throw it all in my trusty slow cooker.
After I puree the sauce, I brown some meat and throw it in.
This makes A LOT of sauce. You can half the recipe if you want or can it. If I ever get over my fear of canning, I will do that next time. I probably won't ever have to though, because we seriously could eat this every night!
This is the littlest in our garden full of future spaghetti sauce.
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