Mom Knows Best

Don't get too excited, Mom.

But, when it comes to cooking, my mother is Queen. She's a goddess. She should have statues erected to her and churches built in her name. Or maybe restaurants. The only meat I miss is her paprika chicken from Julia Child's cookbook. The point is, she is a FABULOUS cook, and a great baker, too.

Oh, and she's a pretty great mom as well. :-)

So I don't know why I even tried that other marinara sauce. After making it two times, I got sick of it and needed to go back to momma's cooking. So I nagged until she emailed me the recipe, and promptly made the sauce yesterday afternoon.

Ingredients:

• 2 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1 12 ounce can of tomato paste
• 1/3 cup snipped parsley
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 Teaspoons dried, crushed oregano
• ¼ Teaspoon Thyme
• 2 Bay leaves
• 3 Cups of Water

I was surprised to find that I didn't have thyme, so I used basil instead (I need to get on that). Also, instead of three cups of water, I used 2 1/2 cups of water and a 1/2 cup of red wine. Totally recommend it.

So, how you make this fabulous sauce:

Saute the garlic and onions in olive oil until the onions are tender.

Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and simmer for 4-5 hours. Make sure there are little bubbles in the center, as Mom says.

Your house will smell great. You will be thrilled with this sauce, I swear. I put it over four cheese tortellini from the refrigerated section of the grocery store (yeah, I copped out there). A great, easy, satisfying Saturday dinner!

Thanks, Mom. You're the best!