Ingredients:

3 lbs. (or 2 large cans) fresh or frozen tomatoes (chopped and skins removed)

2 medium onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced finely

2 tsp. oregano

2 tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp. brown sugar (more or less, depending on the acidity of the tomatoes)

red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil.

Directions:

Add onions and sauté until translucent.

Stir in minced garlic.

Cook for a couple of minutes and add tomatoes, oregano and a little salt and pepper and heat until mixture begins to boil.

Reduce heat to simmer and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until mixture begins to reduce and thicken. Taste and add sugar, a bit at a time, stirring after each addition, until flavour is well-balanced.

If mixture isn’t as thick as you would like, you can add a little tomato paste a bit at a time until you achieve the desired consistency.

NOTE: This recipe is a blueprint for you to use to make the sauce your own.

When you have cooled the sauce, you can spoon ½ cup portions into zip-lock sandwich bags or ice-cube trays. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet, freeze them and stack them up in your freezer for those busy nights when cooking a big meal would be impossible.

If you use the ice-cube method, freeze them and pop them out into a zip-lock and take out as many as you need for a meal.

You can also get the kids to help you grate your favourite pizza cheeses, and bag and freeze them as well. It is better to freeze grated cheese, rather than cheese in blocks.