Spicy Homemade Tomato Sauce

The other day Chris was out for dinner with the guys & I was home left to my own devices. I opened the fridge & looked long & hard for something to make for dinner for one.  As I reached for the leftovers from the night before I noticed a jar - A JAR OF SAUCE. I immediately texted Chris to ask him what this jar of sauce was doing in our house, let alone fridge. He responded that he needed it for his meatball hero he planned to eat. I let him get away with it but honestly I didn't grow up with jarred sauce & I prefer the homemade stuff. Yes that probably makes me a sauce snob - but I've been spoiled by the cooks in my Italian family - I learned by watching them (kudos to you if you remember the frying pan commercial this references).  By watching them I also learned how to make my own sauce, which is in fact super easy, inexpensive & well just delicious. So before you reach for the jarred sauce give yourself a vote of confidence, click through & make this super easy recipe.



Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt
• pepper
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (more or less depending on the level of heat you like)
• 1-28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes & the juice in the can
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano

Make it!

1. Heat olive oil over medium/high heat in a deep medium sized pot.
2. Add chopped onion. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Cook until the onion becomes translucent (about 4-5 minutes).
4. Add the chopped garlic & red pepper flakes.  Cook together for another minute.
5. Add tomatoes, tomato paste & oregano. Stir the mixture together & break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to squirt yourself with the juice or wear an apron just incase.
6. Simmer together for about 10 minutes. Use a small spoon to taste the sauce. Add more salt if needed.
7. Turn the heat off.  Using an immersion blender (this one is my favorite & I use it or one or it's attachments about 5 times a week - well worth the mini investment) blend together the sauce until it is smooth & no chunks of tomatoes remain. If you don't have an immersion blender you can use a regular blender just be mindful when blending the hot sauce as it may fly out of the top. Blend in batches. If you don't have a blender of any kind - break the tomatoes up as much as possible & call it rustic.
8. Serve this sauce over pasta, pizza or a meatball hero. 
9. Let the sauce come to room temp before storing it.  You could definitely store it in a jar in your fridge to use (ahem - CHRIS!) or  pour it into a freezer bag, store flat & freeze it for later use (up to 3 months!) - don't forget to label & date your bag.