Simple Sausage Marinara

I've made this a few times now and I find it super savory! This red sauce with sausage is super easy. Its one of those meals you do a bunch of prep work for, and then you relax while the sauce simmers it's way into the juiciest parts of the sausage. Let's get started.

You will need:

• 6 hot or sweet Italian sausage, whichever you prefer or mix it up
• 14 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz. can of whole peeled or diced tomatoes
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
• fistful of basil, chopped
• salt & pepper to your taste
• olive oil

Start prepping by filling a medium sauce pot 2/3 full of water. Set that on medium-high heat and let it come to a boil while you're dicing up the onion, garlic, and basil.

Pour olive oil into a large sauce pot, enough to cover the bottom of the pot, and put it on medium-low heat. Once the olive oil has heated up a bit, dump in the diced onion. Let the onion cook until it looks a little translucent and then stir the onions to the sides of the pot to make a little landing pad for the garlic. Let the onion and garlic simmer for a while until the garlic looks yellow, then stir it up. If the onions start to burn or cook to quickly, definitely turn the heat down.

Before you place the sausage in the boiling water, use a fork to poke each sausage three or four times. Let the sausages cook for 4-6 minutes each at the most. After they're done, I like to cut them into twos or threes so the sauce gets in. My Nonno (grandfather) preferred cooking them whole. It's alright if they aren't cooked through because they're going to be in the sauce which is still thickening.




Turn the heat way down and let your sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes. I like to simmer my sauce for as long as possible. Well, go try this and tell me what you think. Whatever, you'll like it.

Love,

Liz

Pasta Sauce RE-RE-RE-RE-MiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiX!!!

It's been over 4 years since I started this blog and since then I've matured, and so have my recipes. Tonight I'll tackle the pasta sauce. I've definitely changes things around and updated ingredients. I hope you'll enjoy this new version as much I do!

Believe me once you realize how easy it is to make you own really good marinara sauce, you'll never eat it from a jar again.

This time, you'll need:

• 1 14 oz. can whole tomatoes peeled (with or without basil)
• 1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tiny can tomato paste (you only need half the can)
• 1 whole tomato (diced)
• 1 giant onion or 2 medium sized onions (diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (diced)
• 2 fresh basil leaves or 1 TBSP or chopped basil
• 2 TSP oregano
• 1 hot pepper (diced) or 1 TBSP hot pepper flakes
• 1 lb. ground sirloin (browned and drained)
• 4 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP salt
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 2 TSP black pepper 

Fist, heat up a medium sized frying pan, then add 2 TBSP oil. Once the oil is hot, sautee theonions until the are almost tender, then add garlic. When the garlic is golden brown, stir into the onions and remove from heat. While this is going on, pour the rest of the olive oil into a medium cooking pot and brown the ground sirloin.

Next, combine crushed and peeled tomatoes, diced tomato, onions, garlic, basically everything, into the pot with the browned sirloin. Bring to a boil and stir. Then, reduce heat and simmer, stir regularly. For hours. On end. Make sure you mush up those big chunks of tomatoes and onions once they tender. Unless you want it to be chunky, then leave it be and simmer for at least an hour.

The changes I've made, such as the quality of beef and extra herbs are definitely noticeable from my earlier attempts. Trust me, the ground sirloin apposed to beef is RIDICULOUSLY striking.

Love,

Liz