I have a confession to make; I never spend more than two hours on a homemade pasta sauce. Gasp! I've been regaled with stories from friends and family about how grandma used to spend all day making hers, simmering it down on the stove for hours, adding this or that every hour or so in order to make it perfect.

And while I'm sure grandma's sauce was tasty, I still can't bring myself to spend that much time on one dish. Maybe I'm not as old-fashioned as you might think! My mason jar collection and closet full of yarn could argue, but I digress.

Even though I have a pretty standard sauce recipe I rely on I do like mixing the ingredients up now and then. I made this "Summertime Sauce," with basil and green pepper, a few weeks ago. It was really, very tasty and I think you should try it. Excellent for summertime, especially if you have home grown peppers or basil you can use!

INGREDIENTS
2 28-ounce cans plain tomato sauce
1 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 shallots, peeled and diced
1-2 ounces (approximately 3 springs) fresh basil, chopped or minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
A pinch of powdered cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sugar

DIRECTIONS
Warm the olive oil in a large pot. Add the diced peppers and shallots and saute until they begin to soften. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 45-90 minutes or until you have reached your desired consistency. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Let me know if you like it!

I love making my own sauce; it's more affordable, it tastes better, and it's healthier, too. It enables you to personalize the flavor (you can adjust it to your preferences) and allows you to explore adding what ingredients you have at the present time. You may have seen this recipe before (I've shared it in a few places) but I made it once again for dinner tonight and simply had to share it again. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sweet onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 28 ounce cans plain tomato sauce
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup white wine
2 carrots, sliced thinly
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini squash, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a large pot, warm olive oil on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and onions and saute until they begin to yellow, just a few minutes.

Add sauce, diced tomatoes, wine, and tomato paste. Stir well. Increase heat until sauce begins to boil, then decrease and allow the mix to simmer.

Add remaining ingredients and stir. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 and 1/2 hours until thickened to your liking!

Makes 8-10 servings. Excess sauce can be frozen!

VARIATION
Instead of slicing and dicing the carrots, zucchini, and pepper, throw them in your food processor and make tiny bits out of them all! It will create a thicker texture (almost like a meat sauce) and will combine the flavors better than using sliced veggies.