Basic Marinara

 William, my Aspie son, has decided that he wants one night a week to make dinner. No quick foods here, he insists it be from scratch.  Like he lectured everyone, they won't be at home forever and won't be able to rely on me to cook all their meals.  (Although Andrew's response was that he'll come back for meals.)  


Last night we made marinara sauce and meatballs for the meatball subs William chose to make for his night this week.  I'm hoping that eventually he'll be able to do this without my help so I can actually enjoy the day off from cooking.  For now, it's just another reason for us to chat.  About politics.  His favourite topic. Yay me.

I'm always looking for a better marinara sauce... this is the best one yet, from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen . In my next blog post I'll post the delicious meatball recipe that I also found there.

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, diced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cups reduced-salt chicken broth or stock
3 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes (preferably no salt added)

Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven and cook onions over medium heat until softened. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for about an hour or until sauce thickens.

Makes approximately 12 cups.


Note sent to me from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen herself:
If you like this recipe you can freeze 2 cups for Baked Fusilli with Asiago and 1 cup for Sausage, Pepper and 2-Cheese Pizza...or use for easy dinners all week : ) -- they are in my photos section. Enjoy!