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Homemade Tomato Sauce
By Care.com A. on Tue Feb 2, 2010 at 4:20 PM EST
I love making this one! Got the recipe straight from Grandma...

This recipe takes all day, so make sure you've got a lot of time ahead of you. It's an easy project to do with kids, though, because most of the work takes place in the first 15 minutes... after that, you just sit, wait, and stir occasionally.

Ingredients:
4 large cans crushed tomatoes in puree
1 large can of tomato paste
4 large onions, peeled and chopped
6 gloves of garlic, peeled, minced, and crushed
3-4 tbsp. of olive oil (enough to cover bottom of pot)
Dried oregano
Dried basil
1 bay leaf
1-2 large carrots (peeled) or 6-8 small baby carrots (for sweetness--and to avoid using sugar)

Heat oil in the bottom of a large pot on medium-high heat. Cook the onions in the oil until they're transparent. Be careful not to burn them!

Once the onions are done, add the tomato paste, garlic, tomatoes, and one large tomato can's worth of water. Stir until blended.

Sprinkle basil and oregano, covering the top of the mixture. Then add carrots and the bay leaf. Stir again until well-mixed.

Allow the mixture to come to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce starts to boil, turn the heat down to simmer/low.

Keep stirring slowly every 10-15 minutes so the sauce doesn't burn on the bottom of the pot. It takes anywhere from six-eight hours for the sauce to be done. As it cooks, it's okay to taste and re-season if you feel it's lacking that "special something." Once the sauce has reached your desired thickness, you're done.

Remove the pot from the heat and let the sauce cool. Remove carrots and store in jars or empty plastic containers. This sauce recipe makes enough to fill four large yogurt containers. Freeze three for later and serve one with dinner that night! It's great for spaghetti or homemade pizza.