Crockpot Marinara Sauce

The crockpot cooking method is now another easy lazy way to create a wonderful meal. I love to make tomato sauce, or whatever Italian cooks want to use the sauce for from pizza to pasta. I find each cook can create his or her own marinara sauce with basic and ingredients, such as fresh or canned stewed tomatoes, garlic, fresh or dried basil, oregano. Sometimes, I add red wine to the sauce, if I have an open bottle of red wine, but it is not necessary to add wine to the recipe. With my busy life, I like to make this sauce in a crockpot because it really saves time. Place all the ingredients in a crockpot and forget about it. How easy and simple it is. This sauce freezes well or last a week in the fridge. I make my sauce with fresh herbs because it is summertime in the Northwest with my full herbs garden. This sauce can be easily used to create more recipes for a quick dinner.

Ingredients:
Two 14, 5 oz. canned tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 onion, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 cup red wine
1 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup fresh chopped oregano and basil

Directions:
Place all the ingredients in a crockpot. Cover and turn to high for 4 hours or low to 8 hour. Adjust the seasoning with more salt or sugar, if needed. Leave the sauce chunky or use a handheld blender to pulse a few times to make the sauce smoother. It is up to you. Ladle the sauce in glass jar with lid.