Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce

Jana here with a recipe that is so good, you won't ever want to buy canned spaghetti sauce again!  I took my inspiration from a blog I found through a search for marinara using fresh tomatoes.  We have more tomatoes from our garden than we can eat, so I wanted to turn them into something yummy!  If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you could substitute canned tomatoes.  I suggest using the seasonings listed, but also seasoning to taste once it has cooked down. 

If you aren't familiar with how to peel fresh tomatoes, it isn't hard!  I get a large pot of boiling water going on the stove, and a sink of cold water ready.  Core the tomatoes first, and slice an 'x' on the bottom.  Put them in the boiling water for 45 seconds to a minute, then place them in the cold water for about the same amount of time.  Once they have cooled, you can easily peel the skin off!

Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce

8-10 medium/large garden tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves minced garlic

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1. Peel the tomatoes, as mentioned above.

2. Chop the tomatoes into quarters, and put them into a medium sized pot.  Simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, and simmer for several hours.  The amount of time it simmers depends on how thick you want the sauce to be.  (longer simmer = thicker sauce)  I have found that 3-4 hours total simmer time is a good amount for us!

4. Taste the sauce, and add additional seasonings if necessary!

Enjoy!