A quick home made balsamic tomato sauce

As the Kleinette has been on a very strong spree of cooking for everyone in sight, she thinks it might be nice to share a delicious recipe for quick home made marinara sauce that you can serve to any guest or group of guests that you'd like.  The trick to this tasty marinara - balsamic de-glazing.:) There are a few things that you should always have on hand in order to make home made sauce, a 32ounce can of crushed tomatoes [either the ones on sale, or the best ones that you can afford], onions [fresh or frozen chopped], italian seasoning, garlic, olive oil and of course balsamic vinegar.  The recipe I am including here is a more souped up version of the most simple one you can make:

Ingredients:

1 or 1.5 onions, chopped

32ounce jar, crushed tomatoes

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Zuchinni

Yellow Squash

Basil

Parsley

Italian Seasoning

Tomato Paste

Garlic Paste

Directions:

Chop all the onions, sautee them for 5 minutes on medium-high heat in olive oil.  After they initially start to carmelize, about 4 minutes, add the zuchinni.  After about 7 minutes, add garlic and tomato paste.  After 3 more minutes, add about 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to deglaze...[lets the balsamic cook down to a sort of more syrupy texture].  Next, add your crushed tomatoes and cook until it all starts to come together.  Next add about 3-4 tablespoons of Italian Seasoning.  Away from the pan, cut up your parsley and basil.  While you are doing all of this, your water for pasta should have boiled and you should have already put in your pasta.  As your pasta nears completion, add the basil and parsley to the sauce and let it simmer on low until your pasta is complete.

Et Voila.... simple at home - home made - balsamic tomato sauce!

If you want to simplify this recipe, simply leave out the zuchini and use only dried herbs instead of fresh.  You can also use garlic powder instead of garlic paste and the tomato paste is also optional, using it just makes the sauce more savory ;) You can also add mushrooms to the sautee, or, if you want to get even fancier, as I often do because I have a food processor and a typical supply of carrots, I process a handful of carrots to sautee with the onions to add more vitamins and more sweetness to the dish.

If you try this recipe - or have any questions or comments let me know!