Homemade Tomato Sauce.....LOVE this stuff!

I have a confession to make. A serious confession at that.  But, I feel like I can tell all of you that have been following my blog - you may just understand. :-)

Well......here we go.....here is my confession....

I have just started making sauce from scratch only 2 years ago.  Before that I was totally intimidated by the thought of doing so.  It wasn't until my good friend Liza shared her favorite lasagna recipe with me that had "homemade sauce" in it that I realized I could actually accomplish such a feat.  I know it may sound silly to many of you but I felt like I had just completed one of my biggest success's in life by making a yummy homemade tomato sauce. So there, that was my confession....I feel so much better now that I have shared that with all of you!

Speaking of sharing here is my version of a homemade sauce that I have created since my BIG accomplishment 2 years ago.  Please feel free to give me any suggestions or tips as to how you make your sauce....I'm always open for new ideas.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 lb. ground beef (of course ground turkey would be fine too....or no meat at all if you wish)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 green pepper, chopped

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 (6 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 (6.5 oz) can tomato paste

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1-2 tsp dried or fresh chopped parsley

Directions:

1. Drizzle olive oil into a Dutch oven pan and then set on medium heat.  Add chopped green pepper and onions in a Dutch oven pan....

....cook until onions become translucent and peppers start to get soft....

         ....add in crushed garlic and cook for a couple of minutes (careful not to burn the garlic!). You can either add the sliced mushrooms at this point or saute them separately.

2. Put cooked veggies in a bowl and set aside.  In the same Dutch oven brown the ground beef....

Drain any extra fat.

3. Combine with the ground meet crushed tomatoes (juice and all), tomato sauce and full can of tomato paste along with the 2 tablespoons of sugar.....

.....and then return veggies to the pot....

and spices and salt and pepper...

4. Cook over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes and then reduce heat to simmer for a good 30 minutes...longer if you can handle it so that all the flavors really combine and cook into one another.

5. Serve over favorite pasta along with some yummy bread.  I served mine with a good blogging friend's bread sticks - which I will be sharing with you VERY soon. ;-)

Happy Homemade Tomato Sauce!