Italian Marinara Sauce


Brown one chopped onion and 2 - 3 cloves minced garlic in olive oil. Add 2 cans crushed tomatoes (20 oz. size), 2 cans (20 oz) puree and one 12 oz can tomato paste, any good Italian Brand Opt: About 2+/- cups water to thin sauce (to whatever thickness you prefer)
Add - oregano, basil and parsley. Start with a teaspoon of each and adjust according to your personal tastes. You can use as much as 3 Tbsps. of basil. If you have FRESH basil, that is much better!!! Add about 1 tablespoon of oregano and parsley.
You can also add a whole carrot to the sauce for flavor. Be sure to remove it and discard when ready to serve.

For a different taste:
Add a pinch (1/4 teaspoon) of baking soda. You will see the sauce bubble. This is added to take the acid out of the tomatoes! It really works.
Also, you can add SUGAR to the sauce. Some like sauce a little sweeter - try starting out with a teaspoon and adjust accordingly. Many Italian cooks add as much as a 1/4 cup, depending on the amount of sauce you are making. I would use about 2 Tablespoons for this amount. A local Italian restaurant is said to add APPLESAUCE to its marinara sauce!
Next step is to add about a 1/4 cup of wine (red, white, whatever you have on hand is fine!). Then simmer all the ingredients for a few hours.

This is just a tomato (marinara) sauce. If you want to add meat to it, you can do so. You can make meatballs in advance - 5 lbs. at a time, bake them and freeze them on cookie sheets and store in Zip Lock bags and use as many as needed. You can sometimes add brascioli (rolled steak), whole pieces of chicken, porkchops or wedges (about 1" to 2" lengths) of pepperoni to the sauce. Adding meat sometimes makes your sauce a little greasy (especially pepperoni), but gives it a different flavor.
To eliminate SOME of the grease, cut the pepperoni in 1" or 2" pieces and put them on a glass plate and microwave for a minute or so turning at 30 second intervals. Then wipe off grease with a paper towel before adding to sauce. The longer your sauce cooks, the more time the meat will have to absorb the flavor of the sauce and will taste better! Keep in mind that each meat you add will make the taste of the sauce a little different.