Homemade Pasta Sauce

My family loves Italian food, honestly, what's not to love. There are so many good flavors and combinations, and it's such a great way to get families together.

I was lucky enough to live in Italy for a time, and was able to learn a few tricks to make a more authentic-tasting tomato pasta sauce. The main key to making a good tomato sauce is cutting the acidity of the tomatoes, without compromising the taste. There are a couple different ways to do this, the first is to just use plain granulated sugar, which I had done my whole life. This way is best if you want a lighter sauce. The other way to cut the acidity is to add a packet of hot chocolate mix, YUMMY, this trick is best if you want a little heavier sauce, like you would use in lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs.

You'll be completely surprised at how easy this is, we don't have Prego or Ragu in our home, because this tastes so much better, and is so easy to make! Trust me, once you start making your own sauce, you'll never go back!

Homemade Pasta Sauce:
1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1-2 T. dried Italian seasoning
3/4 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. granulated sugar OR 1 packet hot chocolate
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a medium sauce pan, and let simmer for at least 20 minutes, or up to 11/2 hours, stirring occasionally. The longer the sauce simmers, the better incorporated the flavors will be. Combine into your favorite pasta dish. DELICIOUS!!