Easy Tomato Sauce Served Over Fresh Homemade Pasta

Who doesn't love pasta?! Noodles and red sauce makes a quick, easy meal, that both adults and children love to eat. I know it is a staple in our house and often makes it into the weekly meal cycle. Opening a jar of sauce, heating, maybe throwing in some meat, and serving over dried pasta boiled for 10 minutes or so is convenient. I can't deny that. However, did you know that making your own basic sauce is almost as quick and easy as opening a can or jar of pre-made? And making your own fresh pasta isn't as much work as I bet you think! By making your own sauce and your own noodles, you can eliminate the additives and preservatives found in the other, as well as control the salt content and most importantly - the flavour!

I actually had a difficult time deciding which recipe to make as my FIRST posted one. I felt a bit of pressure for getting it just right, and felt it might set the tone of this blog. I had many ideas pop into my mind and finally decided on the one that is MY OWN, and the one that seems to repeat in the various meals I love to cook. This basic pasta sauce recipe is very quick and easy to prepare, and it's also very easy to modify to your own tastes. I am sure that many other recipes on this blog will include this basic recipe, tweaked to that day's tatses and available ingredients. You can double or triple this recipe and easily can it (pour in mason jars and freeze, or treat in a water bath for 30 minutes). It works equally as well over homemade pasta, as it does over dried pasta from the grocery store. It also doubles as an excellent pizza sauce! I hope that once you see how easy it is to make, you will start to make it part of your weekly or monthly meal routine. And I also hope that you experiment with this one and create YOUR OWN pasta sauce recipe, too! Remember the words of Michael Smith - "A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise..."

Jenn's Easy (Basic) Tomato Sauce

Splash Olive Oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar (24 oz) fresh mashed (or strained) tomatoes (*look for low sodium/salt-free*)

Fresh or Dried Herbs (oregano, basil, parsley, herbs de provence, Italian seasoning)

Tonight I used: 1 tsp dried herbs de provence

                       1 tsp dried oregano

                       1 ½ tsp dried parsley

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Pinch of white sugar

S&P to taste

Cooked pasta noodles of choice

Cheese of choice (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1.    Heat oil in saucepan. Add diced onion and saute for 5 minutes (until they are soft, appear clear, and are just starting to brown). Add minced garlic and stir.

2.   Once garlic starts to brown (30-60 seconds), immediately pour in jar of tomatoes.

3.   Stir then sprinkle herbs on top. Fresh herbs are best, but dried work fine, too. Add pinch of white sugar and S&P. Stir until all ingredients are well blended. Taste sauce and add more herbs and/or s&p to meet your preference.

4.   You can serve this immediately over cooked pasta, or let simmer for up to 2 hours. The longer it simmers, the more the flavours will meld together.

5.   Top with cheese of your choice – parmesan, cheddar, blue cheese, and mozzarella are all good options. Tonight I used Brick Cheese w/ Olives.

6.   **Optional Step – before adding the garlic, you can add any veggies you would like to the oil and onions. I sometimes add peppers (green, red, orange, yellow or even jalapeno), zucchini, carrot, or anything else you want. Saute for a few minutes, until softened slightly.

7.   **This sauce also tastes great served with ground beef or meatballs.

8.    ENJOY!!!!

Basic Homemade Pasta Recipe

        1 egg

      1/2 teaspoon salt

    1 cup all-purpose flour

      1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

      1-2 tablespoons water

DIRECTIONS

             1. In small bowl, beat egg w/ 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp water. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the flour and pour in the egg mixture. Mix together until you have a stiff dough. If dough is dry, add the extra tbsp of water.

            2. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 3 minutes. Cover in saran and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

             3. Roll dough by hand or with a pasta machine until 1/8" thick. Cut into strips using a knife, a pizza cutter, or pasta machine.

              4. Place cut pasta directly in boiling water for 4-5 minutes.

              5. Serve with sauce and enjoy!

**Please excuse the formatting of this post. I am still trying to figure this all out!!!***