Carla, when I used to make sauce, it had a lot to do with the ingredients I used.

The closest I come to making sauce these days is for stuffed peppers; will only use Hunts or Contadina tomatoes. I don't have the actual can but one has some sort of flavoring which made the best sauce.

Carla, many, many moons ago, I was reading the soil forum and they were talking about tomato sauce. Metaxa gave this recipe. I haven't tried it, but it sounds yummy.

Lisa,
There really isn't any recipe.
Large roasting pan, fill with tomatoes, onions, celery, whatever you have but don't use too much carrot as you can overpower the sauce.
Drizzle all with balsamic and toss to coat, add S&P, and place in a 350° oven and render unto Caesar.
Poke it every now and then, remove tomato skins as they pop up and when it is a consistency you want for your sauce adjust seasonings.
Gives you a tomato sauce that is redolent of roast vegetable. Don't forget the garlic, just throw in whole cloves.
As an aside, the moisture driven off and the time it takes makes immediately afterwards a good time to clean the oven, everything just slides off or, if you have a self clean, it works better, less residue to wipe out.

I can't make it as good as Ragu can so I stopped trying a long time ago.

Thanks everyone. Lisa, very interesting recipe.

Carla

Ya know, I usually just wing it, but I've found that some of the meatier romas lend a good flavor. Also, you can try adding some tomato paste; it really thickens things and has a nice strong tomato flavor.

Lara

I used to make my own homemade suace, simmered with a pigs foot and all that, but now I just use the jar, Prego is the best, and second is Francesca Rinaldi.

best home made sauce
oive oil
2 lg onions- minced
3 cloves of garlic-minced
1 lb ground beef
2 small cans of tomato paste
1 large can of tomato puree
1 large can of diced tomatoes
brown onions and garlic- add ground beef-brown
add tomato paste -puree-diced tomatoes.
add handful of parsley-basel-oregano-salt-pepper
simmer 2-3 hours. OH MAN-GOOD STUFF=REAL DEAL

Lazy Bird here.

I buy "What is on Sale" and add dried (get the dark brown ones- the ones dried on a roof or something.) tomatoes that have been rehydrated with water and blenderated to a puree.

Add fresh tomatoes if you got them, herbs and enjoy.

Doug, good to hear from you. Miss you and Dave too.
darbardi, thank you, sounds very good.
Lara, I think you're right. If I can just get the right tomatoes it seems to make a big difference I think.
Ramblinrosez, I'll have to look for the Francesca one. Pig's foot, what is that supposed to do? OMGosh pigs foot, not sure I could do that. lol

Carla

Carla, mine is simple. I doctor jarred sauce (lately it's Classico) with a lot of dried basil - a rounded tbl/jar (when I had a basil plant on my windowsill I used lots of that) and Tone broth paste (sounds luscious :)) but it's lower in sodium.) The beef will make it really hearty, chicken less heavy and vegetable will keep it light. Also minced onion (don't like onion so don't have fresh ones), garlic and oregano or marjoram - and sometimes wine reduced first. I've gotten to where I really like a lot of flavor. Basil is the key.

Sherry

Sherry, I use the Classico with tomato and basil. Yours sounds good. Thank you. I've never used marjoram but may try that too.

Carla

Here's an oh-so-easy way to make jarred spaghetti sauce taste wonderful and you don't even have to doctor it up with anything.
Just cook 2 jars of any brand spaghetti sauce in a crock pot for a few hours. Add any browned meat to it and any spices, garlic, whatever.
You will be amazed at how good it will taste simply by slow cooking it for 3-4 hours. I start mine on high to heat it up then set it on low for the remainder of the cook time. You'll know when its done by tasting it.
Try it! I bet you will like it.

Carla,
We make our own sauce all the time. Start with fresh tomatoes. If you go for canned then make sure that they don't have anything added to them. Pure tomatoes all the way.
We saute diced onion (we usually use 3 but its up to you) in olive oil until they are clear.
Then we add the tomatoes with the following:
green and red bell peppers
garlic
carrots
celery
diced eggplant
fresh organo, basil, rosemary and at least 2 bay leaves.
Chicken broth
tomatillos 2 or more depending on how much you are making
a bit of balsamic vinegar
Pepper and salt
occasionally we add brown sugar but we try to stay away from it. My DH is a diabetic, we also try to stay away from salt because both my daughter and DH are on strict salt restriction.
We simmer for at least 2 hours tasting and adjusting regularly. When its done we then puree it in the blender.
If you want to play with flavors try adding roasted garlic and bell peppers to the mix, the added flavors are a delight.
We freeze what we don't eat. I wish I could be more exact but we cook freestlye and are just beginning to write down our recipes. If you want to give homemade noodles a try they are very easy and excellent!

Try this recipe. It is a winner.
http://www.spaghettisauceandmeatballs.com/anthonys_pasta_sauce_recipe_printer_friendly.html