Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This post is about homemade spaghetti sauce (as you probably gathered from the gigantic ladle of sauce pictured above). But this post is also about homemade bread crumbs, spaghetti and meatballs,(or as we’ve been calling it, Spegy N Merbles; see here for hilarious food pronunciations) dreams of Italy, and my lovely Sunday afternoon. That’s right, I went homemade all the way today.
I made wheat bread last weekend (this is starting to sound like I’ve been cooking up a crazy storm lately, which is actually anything but true…I seriously did not cook a SINGLE meal last week. I have been off my game). It just so happens that I made bread last weekend, and by now the leftovers were really dried out. I was about to throw it away and then finally the inspiration hit me. Dry it out even more and make breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs=meatballs! This was my train of thought anyway.
What I am trying to tell you is don’t ever throw your old bread away. Unless it gets moldy of course. You can even throw it in the freezer, unthaw it and then do what I’m about to tell you. Either way, just don’t waste it. All you have to do is cut it into cubes, toss it on a cookie sheet in a single layer, and crumble it up and let it sit for a day or two. Then throw it in the food processor and get it all good and crumby. By the way, something about them being homemade makes for way better meatballs, hence the rest of my story…them becoming spaghetti and meatballs.
This morning I was working on my grocery list for the week, and I put a lot of effort into it so that we wouldn’t eat out like crazy again all week…and I happened upon a homemade sauce recipe. I figured why not, since we’d be going to the store anyway and had the time…can’t be too hard. And it was a piece of cake! You basically chop a few ingredients and throw them all in a pot. A huge pot, BTW. I had to transfer to a larger pot because, well, I didn’t read through the entire recipe before I started…rookie mistake. Anyway, it just has to simmer away for a few hours and make your house smell good. Why wouldn’t you make it yourself? Besides, yesterday when I almost bought the $.82 can of Hunt’s sauce, I noticed it had high fructose corn syrup in it. Really? Spaghetti Sauce?
On a related note, I thought perhaps I’d tell you about our plans for Italy. We have been talking for quite some time now about our desire to travel the world, and how exactly we were going to make that happen. We decided we needed to set a time in our heads, or a specific goal, so that we can really work towards it and go for it. Instead of being a true tourist and flying to one place, and then hopping around and seeing everything in a short period of time, we’ve decided that we would much rather like to experience one place and really know what living in a different country feels like. And well, with our love for Italian food, culture, and heritage, (not to mention it looks pretty gorgeous) we have decided Italy would be the place to do such a thing. Our plan is to spend at least 3 months (buying one way tickets just in case) there, and our goal is to do so during the summer of 2013. Being the planner and practical voice in the relationship, I feel like it’s going to be hard to save up enough by that time. But of course, my other half is the personality that believes if we want to make it happen, we will find a way to make it happen. We have already bought a book and language CD’s, so here we go. Here’s to doing everything in your power to accomplish your dreams!
Yes, you are right, this blog post has been all over the place. But it is all related. I haven’t written in a while, so pardon my rambling. If you read up until now, kudos. You, my friend, are the one who will actually try the spaghetti sauce, perhaps be inspired enough to comment, and hold a dearer spot in my heart.
Even though weekends get a little hectic regardless of how you choose to spend them, I have truly enjoyed mine, and as for the rest of the evening? Well you can find us on the couch, curled up with our bowls of Spegy N Merbles, watching “Eat, Pray, Love,” and attempting to speak Italian to each other.
Ciao!
Recipes from tonight’s menu will be spread throughout the week. As for tonight, we will start with the sauce.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 chopped onion
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 (28 ounce) cans whole, peeled tomatoes
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 3 cups water
- 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, water, Italian seasoning, basil, sugar, wine, and crushed red pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve. *The longer you let it simmer, the better it will be.
