Healthy Recipes: Homemade Garlic Marinara Sauce

My trip to the farmer's market on Friday also allowed me to purchase some fresh vegetables to make a delicious, healthy pasta dish for my family and myself.  In order to make this, I got all fresh ingredients to create the sauce.  Here are the directions to my Homemade Garlic Marinara Sauce!  Making homemade sauce is a lot less of a feat than one would assume; it takes about 30 minutes to cook.  A lot of people are intimidated by it, but once you take a chance and make it, you see that making your own tomato sauce is very easy.  You can store leftovers in the freezer and defrost the next time you need a quick meal!  It tastes fresh and delicious; some prepackaged sauces are packed with sodium and preservatives, so it can be nice to create a fresh, delicious sauce on your own.

Ingredients: 

• cherry tomatoes (almost 4 cups)
• olive oil (3 tbs)
• Garlic cloves (3) or garlic paste (1 tbs)
• fresh basil (about half a cup)
• any vegetables you want to stir  fry and add to the sauce (I used one eggplant and one large zucchini)
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, any seasonings you deem fit for the sauce (season to taste)
• whole wheat pasta and any toppings you like on it (I chose whole wheat thin spaghetti and shrimp to top for added protein)

Directions:

1. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large saucepan.  Make sure all of your vegetables are chopped, washed, and prepped prior to beginning to cook.  
1. Start to boil the water you placed in a pot for your pasta.  Once your sauce is almost complete, you will begin to cook the pasta.
2. Make sure whatever protein you are adding is prepped as well.  For the shrimp (pre-cooked and deveined), rinse and saute later in a pan before adding to the pasta.
2. Turn the stove on a medium heat.  Add your garlic to the olive oil.  Once it begins to heat up, add your tomatoes. 
3. As your tomatoes begin to cook, add the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil to another pan to stir fry your chopped and washed veggies (medium heat).  Add your seasonings after they have started to cook a little.  
4. Use a potato masher (or fork if you do not have one) to squish your tomatoes as they begin to soften and cook.  Make sure you are tossing your tomatoes and veggies periodically.  
5. Once your tomatoes begin to become more liquid-y, add a few leaves of fresh basil and salt, pepper, and season to taste.  Do the same with your vegetables.  
1. Save the rest of the basil leaves to garnish your pasta dish at the end.
6. Once the sauce becomes almost totally liquid, add your pasta into your boiling pot of water.  Cook until al dente.  
7. While your pasta cooks, add your tomato mixture to the vegetable stir fry.  Toss and stir periodically.  
8. Drain your pasta, and distribute it in bowls.  Make sure to save 1/2 a cup of pasta water and add to your marinara/veggie mixture.  When the sauce is liquid and the veggies are soft, put a scoop of sauce onto the pasta.  
9. Add your cooked shrimp, and garnish with the rest of the basil.  Serve immediately.

Bon appetite!

Nutritional Information (about 6 cups/servings of sauce):