Marlo's Marinara

On the weekends I love to cook in big batches. I spend a few hours in the kitchen and I save TONS of time during the week. It helps me not have to start dinners from scratch every night. It helps me be able to have grab and go lunches in the fridge and freezer to save me time in the mornings.

One of the things I made today was marinara. I made a lot of it and now I’m ready to go. Marinara is a great base for so many things! It can be used as a sauce on pizza, chicken/eggplant parmesan, simple sauce for pasta, dip for mozzarella sticks, eggs in purgatory, base for tomato soup, base for arrabbiata, and so much more. The possibilities are really endless. The best part is that it’s CHEAP. I bought a 105 oz. can of plain tomato sauce for $2.45 at my local big box store. All in all, I got about 15 cups of sauce for about $4.00!

Ingredients: 

• 105 oz. plain tomato sauce (I buy from big box store, or you could buy (7) 15oz cans.
• 4 cups chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 10 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (can use more or less to taste)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 teaspoons dried Italian basil

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onions and cook 10-12 minutes until the onions soften. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce heat to low and add garlic. Stir to mix and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add red chili flakes, oregano, and basil. Cook another 1-2 minutes, stirring well. 

Using a spatula, scrape mixture into a blender or food processor. Meanwhile, place the pot back over medium-high heat and add tomato sauce. Blend the mixture in the blender or processor until smooth. 

Add smooth mixture back to pot with tomato sauce. Stir to blend and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour. Use immediately, or cool and store in fridge or freezer.