Marinara or Spaghetti

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped, approx. 1.5 Cups
3 cloves of garlic minced

3 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
3 15 oz cans tomato sauce
OR 6 15 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes

1 Tablespoon Basil
1/2 teaspoon Thyme leaves
1 teaspoon crushed Rosemary
½ teaspoon of Oregano leaves
1 crushed dried red pepper
½ teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:
1. Sauté chopped onion for 2 minutes in the olive oil
2. Add garlic and sauté for 2 more minutes until tender
3. Add all ingredients, bring to a low simmer and heat through. Using a potato masher, crush the sauce briefly, 1-2 minutes. Cook for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally to mix and prevent sticking. You can cook your sauce as long as you like in order to bring it to the thickness that you desire. What you are making at this point is a Marinara sauce that can be used for various dishes; pizza sauce, topping for Manicotti, Lasagna, or Spaghetti. Cool it down and pop it in the refrigerator overnight if you are short on time and continue the next day if you like. The refrigeration will intensify the flavors. We have a vegetarian in the family so at this point I usually remove about 3-4 ladles of sauce and then continue with step 4. The Marinara sauce works well frozen. Cool down and place in your favorite serving sized containers and freeze.
4. Add 1 pound browned ground beef for a quickie version of spaghetti or continue with meatballs.

It sounds so complicated but it’s really not. I often start the sauce simmering and then walk away to do other projects. This is great to start early in the day on a Saturday. I’ve also done this in the evening during the work week. I’ll start the sauce first, make a quick meal of left over’s or something that can be popped in the oven, cool down the sauce, refrigerate and continue the next day with the meat. Do not skip the balsamic vinegar, I've made many pots of sauce and my best pot of sauce, by far, is one that has a couple Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. If you are really in a hurry add 1-2 6 ounce cans of tomato paste to thicken. I recently did this for a family gathering when I needed to speed up the process for a pot of pizza sauce. I got rave reviews.