Homemade Pasta & Tomato Sauce

At our house, we love pasta. It is such a great quick meal. Usually, I prefer to make the more creamy kinds of sauces - like this Gorgonzola Cream Sauce. When food prices started to spike I stopped making them as frequently since the fancy cheeses and heavy cream tend to be a tad expensive. Then I turned to making Noel Piper's Spaghetti Sauce (you can find it in her book Treasuring God in Our Traditions). I like to make a big batch and then freeze portions in quart Ziploc bags. Ella really enjoys it. When I serve it over penne, she says it looks like a campfire.

Normally, when I purchase pasta sauce, I buy Barilla Marinara. Out of all the jarred sauces that I've tried over the years, it is my favorite - so fresh tasting. I usually use it for Spaghetti & Meatballs or in lasagna. A few weeks ago I wanted to make this lasagna and needed tomato pasta sauce, but I didn't want to spend over $4 for a jar of Barilla. So, I turned to my pasta cookbook and found this recipe for homemade sauce using canned tomatoes. I was able to make a batch and freeze half for later use. It really wasn't much work and the result was inexpensive and yummy! Here is the recipe, with a few changes that I made.

If you want to see some other Pasta Recipes, head over to Life As Mom today for Jessica's Ultimate Recipe Swap!

Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce

1/2 cup onion
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (30-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon tomato paste or chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Chop the onion, carrot and celery very finely (or use a food processor).
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and then add the garlic slices. Cook over very low heat fo 1 - 2 minutes.
3. Add the chopped vegetables and cook over low heat, stirring frequently fo 5-7 minutes until the veggies are soft and lightly colored. Add the dried herbs and cook for about 30 seconds.
4. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste (or sun-dried tomatoes). Add salt and pepper to taste. Bing to a boil, stirring, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for about 45 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. If you like a smoother sauce, place in a blender and blend until it is the desired consistency.

If you have a pasta maker (like this or a KitchenAid Pasta attachment) and want to try your hand at homemade pasta, here's a recipe for pasta dough from Chef Leonardo Curti of Grappolo Trattoria. (He shared it with my MOPS group when he came & spoke to us about making homemade pasta.)

Pasta Fatta in Casa (Homemade Pasta)

3 cups flour
5 eggs
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. In a bowl, beat eggs and olive oil together. With the flour already running in the food processor, add egg/oil mixture to flour. Stop processing when the dough forms a ball.
2. Use your pasta maker to roll out the dough according to your maker's directions. Form the dough into the desired pasta shape either with the maker or by hand.