Wifey's Spaghetti Sauce

This is a recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce that my wife found somewhere and has made a few times for us.  We enjoy it quite a lot.

 

Ingredients

1 medium chopped onion
5 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 quarts of canned tomatoes
2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp of white sugar
1 bay leaf
1 small can of tomato paste
3/4 tsp of dried (or 2 1/4 tsp of fresh) basil
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is softened. 
2. Stir in the tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. 
3. Cover, lower the heat to low, and simmer for 90 minutes. 
4. Stir in the tomato paste, basil, and pepper and simmer for another 90 minutes.  Serve.

 Notes

1. The tomatoes Wifey's canned from our garden tend to be more acidic than store-bought tomatoes.  She increased the sugar amount from the original recipe to help reduce some of the acid.
2. The sauce can be simmered for less than the 90 minutes mentioned in the final step.  The first time she made the sauce, she followed the recipe exactly.  We like the texture for the sauce and flavor profile (wow, that makes me sound like a foodie) better with a longer simmer.  The flavors blend better that way.