Homemade Pasta Sauce!

I am so excited to report that I successfully made and served my very own homemade marinara sauce last night! Only problem is, I forgot to take photos before it was gobbled up by my friends. The dinner party at Christa's new house (my reason for making the sauce in the first place) was a blast. It was filled with food and fun; my two very favorite things.  I am still so excited to have finally taken the leap. I have stuggled with sauces in the past. I can never get just the right consistency for each of them. I am getting better at cream and cheese sauces like the Gorgonzola cream sauce I made a few months ago, but other than that, most of the sauces I use come out of a jar.

I borrowed this recipe from Giada (my go-to for everything Italian) and it turned out so well. Another plus to making your own sauce: it freezes really well. That means you can make alot of it at one time and keep it in the freezer for random times. I have an extra can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes which I plan on using very soon.

Homemade Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 28 oz. can San Marzano crushed tomatoes (or any brand, I just like these the best)
1 dried bay leaf
Salt
Pepper

Recipe:

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste.

If your sauce starts to thicken and it loses liquid, just gradually add 1/2 cup of water to the sauce over the course of the hour. Make sure to stir it occasionally. You can always double this recipe and have more sauce on hand! It comes out chunky and perfect for all types of pasta, especially my faves: spaghetti, penne and bowtie!

As a side note, although I am sad and disappointed that I will not be able to attend Mardi Gras at Hampden-Sydney this weekend, I will be at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting in DC. I AM excited to finally meet members of the staff in my office in SC and network with many, many people over the weekend. Hooray for that!

I am also excited to see one of my very dear friends, Zach, while he visits DC today and tomorrow for the last time before he leaves the US for South Korea!! He will be teaching English there for a year, and hopefully will return to us after he is done. Knowing Zach though, he will probably fall in love with the country and it's people and never come back!

And lastly, I am super excited about my finalized trip to SOUTH CAROLINA for ST. PATTY'S DAY in March! Wahoo for green beer and seeing all of my great friends!!

Happy eating and have a great day!