Put down that jar!

The cupboards and fridge are looking pretty bare in Casa de Sharp right now.  So last night I did what I do most nights, and just grabbed whatever I could find to throw together a quick meal (what Hayden calls a pantry meal, I really like that term).  So I did spaghetti, well technically mini shells, but let's not get bogged down in semantics.  Anyhow...I was trying to remember the last time I bought a jar of spaghetti sauce, and I have no idea when that was.  So I thought I would share a quick and easy solution to the jar.  Sometime I will put up my full-blown sauce recipe, the kind I make in the crock-pot when I'm actually prepared for it.  But for now, I'll just tell you what I did last night with what little stuff I had in the house.  Maybe it will help you get away from that jar full of preservatives, additives and who knows what else.  I don't know about you, but the less pre-made stuff I use in the kitchen, the better I feel about my food.  Okay, enough babbling, let's get on with this...

Super Quickie Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes in puree
onion powder
dried oregano
dried thyme
dried basil
dried parsley
salt & pepper
red wine (this happened to be Malbec)
cooked pasta
grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Heat olive oil in saucepan over low heat, add garlic and saute until just for a minute or two (make sure not to burn it, this is an issue for me, I'm always getting carried away with the heat).
Add crushed tomatoes, then put a bit of water in the can and swirl it around to get all the juices and dump it into the pan.
Add herbs and salt & pepper (start with just a little bit of the seasonings and as you let the sauce simmer, add as much as you'd like to suit your tastes).  Add a small amount of red wine (just like the seasonings, add more if you'd like as it simmers...but start with just a little, that's much easier to correct than if you dump a whole bunch in and don't like how it tastes).  Stir it all up and simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until you feel the flavors are all mixed and it's to your liking (maybe 15 minutes or so).
Spoon over cooked pasta, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and VOILA!  Dinner!

enjoy!
 ~ j