The sauce is the boss!

 If you're like me, you don't have time to boil down tomatoes to make marinara but it certainly can be done if you have all day to do it. I prefer a shorter cut on this and order premium tomato canned goods on amazon.com. I can't give up all my secrets but some cans of tomato paste or tomato sauce couple with crushed tomato cans is the way to start. Brand names DO matter  when it comes to picking the right canned tomato so message me offline if you would like my secret brands. My tradition sauce would contain meatballs and Italian sausage- spicy. I like to buy homemade sausage from the local deli's in my hood here in Denver. You want to buy ground beef that has a little bit of fat in it so that your meatballs are juicer instead of dry.  Below is my quick recipe for Tina's Sauce: 

Meatballs: 

1 lb of ground beef

2 eggs

1 cup of Italian breadcrumbs

1 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 small onion chopped

kosher salt and pepper to taste

Cook the meatballs in the oven 375 for half hour to 40 minutes depends on how big you make them They should be crispy and golden brown. I usually use parchment paper on my cookie tray underneath to bake them. I also sprinkle some kosher salt or seasoning salt on top of the raw meatballs before I bake them,

Spaghetti Sauce: 

2-3 cans of tomato sauce or 1-2 cans of tomato paste ( add water to paste as directed on can) 

2 gloves or garlic minced

olive oil

meatballs 

sausage

red pepper flakes to taste

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

2 TBL shopped fresh parsley chopped

2-4 fresh basil leaves chopped

1 tsp fresh oregano chopped

1 carrot not chopped

1 onion not chopped (optional) 

1 celery not chopped (optional)

1/4 red wine to taste (optional)

1 tsp chile powder to taste (optional) 

The sauce is easy. Simmer the sausage in the sauce pan in some olive oil until it's golden brown and cooked through. Add all  ingredients into the pot and let it simmer for several hours. Add water as needed to make sure it's not too think and burns initially. After a few hours take the carrot, onion and celery out of the sauce.We enjoy serving the sauce with traditional spaghetti and always use a  pasta spoon at Tina's Table!