Marinara Meat Sauce

I'd love to make homemade spaghetti sauce completely from scratch, from fresh tomatoes. It's high up there on my cooking wish list. I have visions of myself lovingly seeding and peeling tomatoes, and simmering them for hours with fresh herbs and seasonings.

Unfortunately, my cheapskate reality smashes that dream pretty rudely. I live in a region that isn't exactly known for local fresh produce. As a result, fresh vegetables command fairly high prices. Tomatoes cost as much or more per pound as many meats. When I think of the amount of tomatoes required to make homemade sauce, it makes both my head and my wallet reel. I love my pasta, but I can't bring myself to drop $20 just to make a pot of spaghetti sauce. If I'm ever going to drop that much money on one meal, it's going to be at a restaurant.

This sauce uses canned spaghetti sauce for its base. It's a lot more cost-effective. The addition of fresh ingredients and red wine gives it a big zing of flavor. Everybody whose tasted this stuff really enjoys it, so I can assume it does the job.

I'm only going to give the recipe for the sauce. I'll assume everybody knows how to boil spaghetti, ziti, or any other pasta they want to use. This recipe makes enough sauce for about 1/2 to 1 pound of pasta, depending on how sauce-y you like your food.

Ingredients:
-1 can of spaghetti sauce, any flavor that you like. I use Del Monte, which I find is very tasty, and cheap at less than $1 per can. I've tried using the higher-priced, "gourmet" sauces in the jar, but I find it doesn't make much (if any) difference in the finished product.
-1 onion, chopped
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tblsp. olive oil
-1/2 c. red wine. I like to keep boxed wine around for cooking. Unlike bottles, it stays fresh and sound for months, and its no problem to use only small amounts each time.
-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes. You can vary the amount based on how spicy you like it.
-1 lb. fresh Italian sausage, without casing. You can either buy it without the casing, or cut the casing open and take the meat out. I have a meat grinder, so I make my own Italian sausage from scratch. I can find pork, on a good sale, at $0.79 per pound. Premade Italian sausage ranges from $2.99 to upwards of $4 per pound. Making it at home is a huge saving. I buy the pork in bulk when its on sale, make 10-20 lbs of sausage of a time, and freeze it in meal-sized packages. If you don't have a meat grinder at home, try asking the butcher counter of the grocery store if they can grind it for you. Many of them will do so at no charge.

Put a saucepan or pot over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute until the onion is translucent. Put in the sausage. Be sure to stir well to break up any lumps. Cook until the sausage is completely done, anywhere from 10-20 minutes.

Add your canned sauce and red wine, and bring it to a simmer. Cover the pot, turn the heat down low, and simmer for 20 minutes to blend the flavors. Serve hot over your favorite pasta.