Bold Tomato Sauce

Whether you're craving spaghetti, a comforting casserole, or looking for the perfect dipping sauce for your garlic bread, this sauce is the essential element to amplify your meal.

What you'll need:

• 1 medium red onion

• 2 plum tomatoes

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 4 baby bella mushrooms

• 1/4 cup packed basil

• 1 -28oz can crushed tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Steps:

1. Prepare ingredients. Mince garlic and mushrooms. Chop onion and tomatoes.

2. Heat olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté for about 2 minutes until garlic is fragrant and onion is translucent. Reduce heat if garlic is browning.

3. Add mushrooms and and Italian seasoning. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Cook for another 60 seconds before adding crushed tomatoes, chopped plum tomatoes, and sugar. Add optional crushed peppers at this time if you like it spicy. Mix all ingredients together using a kitchen spoon.

4. Bring sauce to a simmer and partially cover with a lid so the steam can exit. Allow sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes before mixing in basil. Periodically mix sauce to prevent bottom from burning.

5. Once the sauce has thickened, reduce heat to the lowest setting and remove the lid. Allow sauce to sit for another 5 minutes. Give it a try and add additional salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Overview:

Why buy store bought pasta sauce when you can whip up this delicious tomato sauce in under 30 minutes? The crushed red pepper is optional and honestly I prefer the sauce without, but some people can not survive without heat. The sugar is an absolute to balance the acidic taste from the tomatoes and can be substituted with maple syrup or agave. This sauce is versatile and can be used as a dipping sauce, pasta sauce, or in a casserole. I use this sauce in my eggplant casserole recipe and it is amazing.