Homemade Marinara Sauce

I had last Friday off and I decided I would work ahead a bit to make meals easier during the week. I wanted to make some things I could put in the freezer and pull out the morning I need them to put together dinner quickly that night. So I decided to make a double batch of whole wheat pizza dough, homemade marinara sauce, baked chicken that I shredded to use in quesadillas, chicken salad, etc. and some bread which I’ll post later this week.

For the marinara sauce I was going to search for recipes, but I decided to just use what I had on hand and try and make one up on my own. I had all the ingredients right in my pantry so it made it easy to throw together. I just used things typically found in italian cuisine. It tasted great! I originally added a bit too much salt and garlic so I tweaked that in the recipe below. Since I had a bit too much of those flavors, I added a little red wine vinegar to mine to balance out the saltiness. So easy and I just put it in a ziploc bag, labeled and put it in the freezer to use later this week for pizza. I’m sure it would be great over pasta as well.

Place skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions and garlic. Saute until onions are transluscent and lightly turning golden brown. Pour in tomatoes, add italian seasoning, pinch sugar, salt & pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer for approx. 15 minutes. Taste & add more seasonings if needed. Lightly press sauce with back of spoon to crush tomatoes further for a less chunky sauce, if desired (or you could put it in a food processor and pulse a few times if you wanted a really smooth sauce). Spread on pizza crust or spoon over pasta.

If freezing: Allow to cool completely. Pour into freezer bag and make sure you get all air out. Label and place in freezer & just pull out and place it in the refrigerator to thaw the morning you need it.