Putting by: Spaghetti Sauce

I love the old term, putting by.
Putting by the harvest, stocking up and preserving for another time.
Yesterday I ‘put by’ the first of the spaghetti sauce for the year.
I used up some of last years tomatoes in a new way.
This is one way you can stretch your vegetables even farther.

Here is how I do it…

I used about 10 quarts of canned tomatoes, draining half the liquid off and smashing them as I tossed them into my stockpot.

You can also use fresh tomatoes. Just quarter them up, and cook. It will take a little while to cook them down, smashing them as you go. You have to use a lot to make sauce because a tomato is full of water!

Depending on the size of your stockpot, you might could use more or less.
I hold out my hand, palm side up and pour dried basil into my hand. I rub my hands together, grinding the spice between my palms and drop it into my pot.
I do the same with oregano.
Several cloves of minced garlic
About a half cup of sugar
Several pinches of salt
Pepper
A couple of splashes of Bragg’s Amino Acid

That’s it for ingredients.
It may be soupy right now, no problem.
You want this to cook low and slow all day long. That is going to give you a nice thick sauce that will be full of flavor.
You will notice it reduce as you go, just give it a stir every once in a while and make sure that it is not sticking on the bottom.
As you go, taste it after it has cooked for a bit. The flavor should have intensified a bit, and you can see what it needs and adjust.
When I feel like it is about right, taste wise. I use a stick blender and blend the mixture till it is somewhat smooth, but not pureed.

When you are ready to can it, simply ladle into clean, hot jars. Affix lids and hot water bath can for about 20 minutes.

I know I call it spaghetti sauce, but I use this for everything… ever thang I’m telling you!
Homemade pizza night, this is my go to for sauce.
Chicken Parmesan, you got it. It works lovely.
Lasagna, YES!
Spaghetti. hahah, of course!
So, you see what I am saying is that it is a great thing to put by for the year because it is very versatile and it is so handy to have when you are in a hurry.
This way, Prego and Ragu can stay on the grocery store shelf. You will save yourself some $$ and everything tastes better when you make it yourself and know that your ingredients are safe and frugal!

Have fun!
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments, and I will do my best to answer either in the comments or if there are many questions, I will be happy to make an entire post to answer.