Homemade Marinara

Nothing tastes better than home-cooked marinara sauce. A while back I found a great recipe from Giada for marinara; I have since modified it and love the outcome. The sauce tastes slightly sweet and garlicy, and there is always plenty of leftover to use for a pasta dish later in the week. Typically I make this with chicken parmesan or a baked piece of chicken and a melted piece of provolone on top... so good!

1 small onion chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

3 celery stalks, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 32 oz can of crushed tomatos (you can always use a can of diced tomatoes which makes the sauce more chunky)

1 can of diced tomatoes

2 cups of chicken broth

1/2 tsp ground thyme

1 tsp oregano dried

1 tsp parsley dried

2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Saute onions over medium high heat with good olive oil. When halfway translucent mix in carrots and celery. Saute until onions are cooked through. Add the garlic, cans of tomatoes, chicken broth and all the spices. Bring all contents to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium low, partially cover the pot with a lid. You need some of the liquids to evaporate and thicken. Let simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If you have a handheld blender use it here! If not, then take out batches of the sauce and blend in the blender, returning to a new pot. The sauce should be nice and thick. Taste and add salt / pepper if needed.

You can freeze leftover sauce for up to 3 months.

Use with my simple chicken recipe! I will post later...