Garden Spagetti Sauce

I don't know why I didn't get a picture of this spaghetti sauce actually ON the pasta. It's not really all that appetizing looking at a glop of spaghetti sauce in the pot. Oh well! I guess when I make it again I'll just have to snag one.

One of my main purposes in making this spaghetti sauce is to hide as many veggies as possible in the sauce without actually letting the sauce taste like anything but the tomatoes. Who wants "carrot-sauce" on their noodles? Not me! But The Honey and I are lovers of mushrooms, so I will confess we didn't try to hide those. Otherwise they would have been pureed as well. The kidlets can pick them out if they want. I'd hate for them to think we spoil them...

This is also a great meatless spaghetti sauce for those of you who don't like chunks of ground beef or turkey in your sauce but want something hearty and slightly chunky. And if you like meat in your spaghetti? Just throw in a few meatballs and you're good to go!

One other note: it may seem like we do spaghetti a lot at our house. And it's true, we probably have it about every 2-3 weeks. Part of the reason for this is because you can throw it in the crock pot before church and it's ready when you get home. Great reason, don't you think? But it's also because it's an inexpensive meal that will feed our family and a guest family. So those of you who have had the opportunity to come over and eat my spaghetti... now you know my little secret. We're feeding you cheap food. But we're trying to live on a budget and love having company over. It's a win-win situation when you cook up a pot of spaghetti!


Garden Spaghetti Sauce
(I've never measured it out of the pot, but it makes about 8 servings of 3/4 c. each. Each serving of sauce is about 110 calories. 1 cup cooked spaghetti noodles is about 220 calories.)

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
2 c. sliced, steamed veggies
12 oz. tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salt/pepper to taste
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp vinegar
2 tsp pizza seasoning

Pour can of diced tomatoes into blender and puree. Pour half the puree into the pot and keep the other half in the blender to puree with the other veggies. (If you like your sauce with tomato chunks, only puree half the can.)

Slice about 2 cups of desired veggies and steam in the microwave. I used zucchini and carrots this time, but I have also done yellow squash. I'm sure you could use just about anything, though I wouldn't recommend corn for what (I would hope) are obvious reasons...

Add steamed veggies to the blender.

Puree for about a minute, or until there are no longer any recognizable chunks if you're trying to hide veggies from your kids. If you just want a chunky garden sauce, just pulse the blender until you get the veggies down to the desired consistency. Pour into pot with the tomato puree and add tomato paste.

Preheat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook until almost translucent.

Add fresh mushrooms and sprinkle a layer of salt/pepper or Nature's Seasons over the mushrooms.

Cook until mushrooms are done. You'll know the mushrooms are done when they start making "juice" in the pan rather than absorbing it. If you don't know what I mean, try it and you'll see.

Finally, add mushroom mixture and all remaining ingredients to the pot. Stir well and let simmer as long as you can. If making it in the crock pot, generally 4-5 hours on low heat is plenty of time.