Quick and easy pasta sauce!

If you're anything like me, we all have days of poor dinner planning every once in awhile. No plan for that night, no meat taken from the freezer, no idea at all what's going to go down when the time comes. Earlier this week I had one of those days. 

I spent the morning at the dentist with a bad tooth, was crazy busy the rest of the day at work, and then 5:00 rolls around. The kids started asking what was for dinner. And then I froze. I had no inspiration whatsoever. So I started rummaging through the cupboards, shelves and frig to see what I could throw together.

Enter this quick and easy pasta sauce. I took ingredients I had on hand and whipped this up in no time. And it was delicious! I was so proud of myself. I usually follow recipes when I make homemade sauce, but not this time! 

Since this was pretty much a pantry challenge, we had our homemade sauce with macaroni noodles, which my youngest son was not impressed by. He loves rigatoni or penne with his sauce, but I told him the macaroni noodles would have to do. That's what I had on hand!

Guess what? He liked it. He liked it so much that he had two platefuls! Score for mom!

Now remember this isn't a fancy sauce, just a quick and easy simple sauce for those crazy weeknights.


Quick and Easy Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar 
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 
A few dashes of red pepper flakes (add as much as you'd like)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Fresh shaved Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, black pepper, red pepper flakes and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, about 15 minutes. Stir in fresh parsley. Add your favorite cooked pasta to the skillet and stir gently to combine. Sprinkle with fresh Parmesan.

Bon Appetit!

This weekend I'll be showing off my quick and easy pasta sauce on the following link parties: Whipperberry, One Creative Weekend and Foodie Friends Friday. Stop over and check them out when you have time. There are some awesome recipes and projects to be found!