Cooking with fresh ingredients usually produces delicious results. In an ideal world, I prefer not to open cans when I am cooking. I enjoy serving my family a meal that has truly been created from “scratch”. This being the case, there are times in all of our lives when we need a jump-start on the cooking process. Canned and bottled products facilitate this process. One of my marinara sauces was created out of just such a moment in my life.
Of course, I love traditional marinara sauce. However, I don’t always have the time to make it. In addition, now that the warm weather has arrived, I do not want to have a large pot of sauce boiling in my kitchen all day.
This is a recipe that is perfect for a quick spaghetti dinner or as the foundation for a number of recipes that I will share with you in the future. It is timely because the basis is Prego. This simply eliminates hours of cooking a traditional sauce.
Marinara Sauce
2 4 lb. bottles of Traditional Prego
29 oz tomato sauce
8 oz. tomato paste
1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar (depending on taste)
1/2 cup of red wine ( I use shiraz or merlot)
1/4 – 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh oregano and basil (adjust to taste… I am generous with fresh herbs)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 finely chopped cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper (season to taste)
Saute the onion and the garlic in the olive oil in a large stock pot. If you are making a meat sauce, you can simply saute the onion and the garlic along with the meat that you are browning. Now add all of the remaining ingredients. (If you browned meat, drain before adding the remaining ingredients.) Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
We all need a cache of easy and delicious recipes to help us through those busy evenings or to serve guests on a moment’s notice.
“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” -Hebrews13:2
Tags: sauce