Homemade pasta sauce

B and I love to cook together!  I've even been known to type #thecouplethatcookstogethereatstogether with photos of the meals that we make (and eat) together.  And while he does leave the baking to me, he is a great cook!  One of our favorites to make is meatballs (one day I'll post those for you) and homemade sauce.  Today, I'm writing to you about this sauce.

The thing about homemade sauce is that it is really easy to make.  It just involves some chopping, and time and patience, but not much else.  (Confession: I am not Italian, and if you have an Italian grandma, she'll probably tell you that this isn't real sauce, but B and I love it and I can't get enough!)  Again, I know this isn't really baked, but it goes so nicely with a savory dish that I'm having for dinner tonight, so I thought that instead of telling you to serve that with store-bought sauce, I'd let you in our little secret :-)  Sorry, I know I'm jumping around, but it'll all make sense soon.

Anyway, back to this sauce.  There is no actual recipe, no actual amounts of measurements, but I will do the best to approximate everything for you.  Feel free to adjust it to your taste: less garlic, more hot pepper, different kinds of tomatoes, etc.

Homemade Pasta Sauce
B's and my recipe

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
4-6 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 medium-to-large yellow onion, diced about 1/3"
1 box (750 mL) San Marzano crushed tomatoes
1 box (750 mL) San Marzono diced tomatoes
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Crushed red chili peppers, dried
Pinch of sugar
8-10 large fresh basil leaves (or more, if leaves are small), chiffonaded

Directions:

Put olive oil in large sauce pan or dutch oven, making sure that it covers the bottom of your pan.
Warm over medium flame until oil is hot.
Add diced onions.
Sautee until almost translucent.
Add in garlic slices.
Continue cooking until garlic is soft and pale.
Add both boxes of tomatoes, being careful because they can splatter.
Add a sugar, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Mix well.

Keep the sauce on a medium flame and stir occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Taste, and add more salt, pepper, and chili flakes to your liking.
At this point, you can lower the heat to medium-low.
Continue cooking until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 1 hour.
Stir in fresh basil, and allow to cook for 5-10 more minutes.

Serve with anything -- pasta, meatballs, or this bucatini pie!