Jean Manolakos

My Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

1. In a large pot add a little oil and cook onion until soft.  Add garlic and cook just a little more.

2. Add all your tomato products and bring to a boil.  Add baking soda and remove from heat and stir.  Baking soda will foam up.  Continue to stir until there is no foam left. (doing this before adding the spices will aid in the prevention of indigestion and help cut some of the acid from the tomato products)

3. Add 1 can of water from tomato paste, 2 cans of water from tomato sauce, 1/2 can water from the tomatoes.

4. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil then lower heat.  cook 1 hour and taste.  Make adjustments.  Add more spices except baking soda or sugar.  Go easy on the oregano by adding a little at a time stir and taste.  Mom used a lot of Italian seasoning., basil and the garlic and onion powders

5. Cook on stovetop on low heat for about 3 to 5 hours or longer if desired.  

6. Near the end of your cooking time add about 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

7. Sauce tastes best if you add meatballs towards the end of cooking time.  Make sure you skim off any grease that may arise if adding meatballs.

MY MOM'S MEATBALLS

Recipe from LastMinuteCooking.com