I mean, who doesn’t want an Italian red sauce (or gravy) that tastes like it came straight out of someone’s Italian great grandma’s kitchen? Anyone? If you don’t want this recipe, then you must dislike red sauce.

Now, this isn’t a weeknight project. It’s definitely something you have to let simmer on low for 8 hours in a dutch oven or crockpot. The bonus is that it makes your house smell WONDERFUL.

I’ve played with this recipe a lot, and I think it’s at a point where I can document it and keep doing it the same way. You can easily make this a meat sauce, too – just add ground beef or ground Italian sausage, or both! It makes a large quantity, so I normally freeze some in quart containers. The only thing that could make this better is fresh tomatoes, but I digress…I didn’t have enough in my garden since it’s been 100 degrees everyday for 2 months!

What you’ll need:

• 2 large yellow onions
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 – 14 1/2 oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 4 – 6 oz cans of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Step by step:

1) heat a dutch oven over medium heat. Pour a little olive oil in the dutch oven (if adding meat, you brown the meat, then remove and use the drippings to sauté your onions)

2) sauté your onions until they start to get transparent then add the minced garlic and continue sautéing for a few minutes.

3) add everything else. All your spices and tomatoes. Bring to a bubble then turn down the heat to LO and cover. Cook for 6-8 hours. The longer, the better. That’s it!