Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

I am on a Do-It-Yourself kick. If there is something I am capable of doing at home without too much extra effort, I do it. This Spaghetti Sauce is one of those. It's easy, tasty, makes a ton, and in the long run is cheaper than buying a can of sauce every time we eat spaghetti (which, I am happy to report, is far less frequently than it used to be).

Because I was in the mood, I did this as a step - by - step post. Sometimes it's fun that way. 

Recipe: 

Yield: about 5 cups

1 onion

2 tbsp minced garlic

4 tbsp olive oil, divided

3 14.5 oz cans tomatoes - any kind works, I used diced

3 6 oz cans tomato paste

2 cups water

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp dried parsley

2 bay leaves

Empty your cans of tomatoes and tomato paste into a crock pot.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan.

Dice your onion and add the onion and garlic to the heated oil and saute for 1-2 minutes.

While the onions are garlic are saute-ing, add the water to the tomatoes and mix well. I used my immersion blender so that my sauce would be nice and smooth. You can leave it chunky, or make it smooth however works best for you.

Add in the onions, garlic, all the seasonings except for the bay leaves, and the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil. 

Mix it all together

...and put the bay leaves on top.

Cook in the crockpot on high for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. 

When your 3 hours are almost up, brown 1lb of Italian sausage (I use hot Italian sausage) or ground beef.

Remove the bay leaves - be warned, you might have to dig for them.

Give it one last stir.

Add about 1 1/2 cups to the pan with your browned meat and allow to heat and mesh flavors together for about 5 minutes. Serve over noodles and enjoy!

Since it makes much more than 1 1/2 cups, I froze the rest for later use. 3 times of spaghetti in one go? Yes, please!