Family Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

When my dad married my stepmom, there was the usual blending of two families, which is not always easy. In addition to all the normal struggles, my parents like to joke of how they had to combine Spaghetti Sauce recipes. One of the top two most requested favorite meals from my childhood was the recipe they created. Once I became an adult, I found out that I really didn't often have the time to let my spaghetti sauce simmer on low for 4-6 hours, so I pretty much became a Ragu girl and never looked back. Today is different. Today, I chart new waters by further adjusting my parents recipe to better fit my current family (my husband and me). This was really fun, I loved tweaking things for my personal grown up tastes and coming up with the perfect match. I will still Ragu it up sometimes, but this is good when I have the time.

Family Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 lb Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage, casings removed (original used ground beef)
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes (original used 3 cans of tomato sauce, no crushed)
1 10 oz can tomato paste
2 6 oz jars pimentos, drained
1 tsp each dried italian seasoning, oregano, basil (or 1 Tbs fresh if you have it)
1 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (my addition)
Optional: Up to 3/4 cup of water to thin out sauce if you like yours thinner, I like it thick!

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft and clear in very large skillet or dutch oven (at least 3 quarts). Remove onion mixture and add turkey sausage to pan. Brown until no longer pink. Drain excess fat. Add onion/garlic mixture, all tomato products and pimentos to pan. Mix well. Add all seasonings and mix well (you may want to taste test seasonings here, adjust as needed). Simmer on low for at least 4 hours. Serve over hot cooked pasta, top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Makes 8-10 servings.

Nutrition Information for Sauce: Calories: 149.6, Fat: 3.9g (.7 Sat, .5 Poly, 2.1 Mono), Carbs: 17.8g, Fiber: 4.2g