Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Countless people rely on Prego, Ragu, Bertoli and whatever jarred spaghetti sauce lines the aisles. While its convenient, you can make your own and it'll taste a million times better. Trust. So next time you are standing in your grocer aisle deciding between the countless options, try this instead. I've made this up to the way I like it so you can doctor to how you like it.

What you need: good olive oil, onion, ground meat (turkey or beef or Italian sausage), garlic, can of crushed tomatoes (28oz), can of plum tomatoes (28oz), can diced tomatoes (12oz or so), salt/pepper, good red wine (1/2cup) - optional; seasoning - depending on your tastes, i.e. crushed red pepper, brown sugar, Italian seasoning, etc.

In a large skillet, cook ground meat until the meat is cooked through, but not burned. Meanwhile, in a large sauce pot, heat olive oil, add onion and saute over medium heat 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. If you want the wine, add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. If you don't want wine in it, skip it. Stir in all of the tomatoes and seasoning. I use Italian seasoning, basil, salt/pepper, a little crushed red pepper and a little brown sugar. Drain the meat and then add to the sauce pot. Let it simmer for at least 15 minutes and serve over whatever kind of noodles you prefer.

If you make a big pot, it can easily be frozen in smaller containers for later use. Learned that little tip from my mom and it still tastes good!