Rachel Donaldson.

Welcome to Dining with Donaldson, the place where I try recipes so you don’t have to!

To continue with our freezer meals, I figured I would officially bring you my red sauce recipe. I know you have all been waiting for it!

I usually make this in a double or triple batch so I can use some of it during my freezer prep for

lasagna, stuffed shells, baked ziti, and pizzas. Then I freeze some of it just as it is for spaghetti or anything else I may want to make later.

Before we get into the actual red sauce recipe, we need to make what I like to call my “secret weapon” – spaghetti seasoning. Sure, you can use Italian seasoning or purchase one of those spaghetti seasoning packets, but I promise this is WELL worth the extra few minutes! Plus, you can make a large batch and keep it on hand for whenever you need it.

SPAGHETTI SEASONING

Ingredients: 1 Tbsp. garlic powder; 1 Tbsp. onion powder; 1 Tbsp. dried oregano; 2 Tbsp. dried basil; 2 tsp. dried thyme; 2 tsp. black pepper; 1 tsp. sage; 1 pinch red pepper flakes.

Directions: Mix everything together in a bowl, or put it directly into the container you plan to store it in and give it a good shake, with the lid ON, of course.

Alright, now that we have our secret weapon out of the way, we can start on the red sauce. Like I said, we refer to this simply as “red sauce” in our house because it is extremely versatile and can be used for so many different things.

RED SAUCE

Ingredients (one batch): 2 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes; 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste; 1 small onion; 2 tsp. jarred minced garlic OR 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 tsp. Sugar; 1 to 2 Tbsp. spaghetti seasoning; 3 to 4 good sprinkles grated Parmesan cheese; 1 to 1 1⁄2 Tbsp. olive oil; salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions: First, get out a small skillet and your slow cooker. Put the skillet on your burner of choice, I prefer the front right, and turn the heat to medium-low. Add the olive oil and let it begin warming. While the oil heats, chop your onion into small pieces. By the time you are finished chopping the onion and wiping your eyes countless times, your oil should be ready. Add the chopped onion to the skillet and stir to coat it in the oil. Season with a little salt and pepper, then let it cook for several minutes until the onion begins to look translucent. At this point, add the garlic and stir continuously. Remember, garlic cooks VERY quickly! You don’t want it to burn and have to go through the whole chopping-an-onion-and-crying process again. Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the spaghetti seasoning and sugar. Now your slow cooker gets its turn. Spray the inside with cooking spray, then add both cans of crushed tomatoes and the can of tomato paste. Take the empty tomato paste can, fill it with water, and add that to the slow cooker as well. Pour in your amazing smelling onion and garlic mixture and give everything a good stir. Set your slow cooker to low and let the sauce cook for at least 8 hours, stirring occasionally.

I usually make this on a day when I know I’ll be home so I can check on it every once in a while, give it a stir, and make sure everything looks great. About halfway through the cooking time, I usually sneak a taste and add a little more spaghetti seasoning if I think it needs it. Once the sauce is finished cooking, stir in the Parmesan cheese. Allow the sauce to cool completely before using it in your freezer meals or freezing it on its own.

And that’s it! One big batch of homemade red sauce ready for lasagna, stuffed shells, baked ziti, pizza, spaghetti, or whatever else you can come up with. This is one of those recipes that takes a little work up front but makes future dinners SO much easier and that is exactly what freezer cooking is all about.

Rachel Donaldson is an author, self-described foodie and the current family and consumer sciences teacher at North Tama Community School District. She resides with her family in Vinton.