spaghetti sauce

anyone have a good homemade spaghetti sauce I am craving it so I thought I would do it with the ricotti cheese.. and I thought home made would be better than store bought..

thanks in advance

I lived on ricotta and Hunts traditional sauce for weeks.  it was one of the few things I could tolerate.  Good luck, you can do it!
Sara

Spaghetti sauce isn't that tough to make, but even though I'm italian I usually use store-bought (at least as the base) and then spice it up... post-surg, I find that Don Pepino's (a yellow can, available at most supermarkets - i've found it at Acme, Wegmans, and Giant) is the best.  One of the few without added sugar, tastes very good.  I then add extra garlic, italian spices and go from there.

If I'm makign it from scratch I use a combination of tomato paste and crushed tomatoes, sauteed onions (diced finely) and garlic in a little olive oil with oregano, thyme, and fresh basil, then salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for a while until the tastes and spices are nicely combined.  The proportion of spices is a very personal taste, I find, so just experiment and keep tasting until you get it the way you want it.

If you like a sweeter sauce, you can add a little maltitol or splenda to it while it's cooking.  Start with just a little, stir and simmer, then taste - add very gradually so you don't get it too sweet.

Enjoy!

Karen

Oh Karen Don Pepino's is a favorite of mine.  It is made down in South Jersey in my old stomping grounds of Williamstown.  Two of my ex-brother in laws used to work there so I used to have cases and cases of the stuff.  I also used to doctor it but have not had any in years....I prefer to make my own but have fond memories of Don Pepino :-)

I make mine with Furmanos tomato sauce, and paste and crushed tomatoes, but since we are restricting carbs you can use a can of Furmanos tomato sauce.I checked the can it seemed the lowest in sugar. I have noticed organic jar sauces are also lower in carbs and sugar. I also love Pastene sauce.I didnt check them for carbs or sugar.
I am really surprised how many people can tolerate sauce? But it seems alot do. Being an Italian cook I am also thrilled and hoping I CAN!   good luck.. Layer ricotta and mozzarella and sauce like lasagna and bake ...yummy

Many times, the sauce sugars are *mostly* natural sugars from the tomatoes which is why people can tolerate it.  Although, many store brands end up adding actual sugar to it....so some of the sugars, are in actuality, added sugars. 

I don't make spaghetti sauce, I make GRAVY,
1 can of tomatoe puree, & 3/4 can of water
 1 can of tomato paste, & 1 can of water
plenty of garlic if you like it, salt pepper, & Basil
and some parmesan/Romano cheese mixture
and then add your meatballs after they are cooked and simmer for 2 to 4 hrs  or put in the crock pot  on high -4 hrs or low for 8hrs
if you only want spaghetti sauce then don't add the meatballs and then it i spaghetti sauce


that is the difference between sauce & gravy, once you add meat to the tomatoes it becomes gravy
Susan

Haha - no one in my very large italian family EVER called it gravy (maybe that was regional? dunno).  If it had meat in it (of any kind) it was "meat sauce" and otherwise was just "sauce" and the meat was on the side.

But just wanted to mention for the others - you don't have to use MEATBALLS if you like meat.  You can use any of the following (or combinations thereof):
Chicken breast, cooked then shredded or diced
Low-fat sausage (chicken or turkey), cooked then cut into pieces
Lean stew beef - you can brown this lightly then simmer in the sauce until it just falls apart
Gardein's beefless tips (for vegetarians) - brown in the pan, then add to the sauce
Gardein's chickenless scallopini - brown in the pan, then add the "breasts" to the sauce

You can also go the veggie route and add chunks of zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and plum tomatoes. 

Limited only by your creativity!

Mangia bene!

Karen

 Different  regions of Italy cook different.I don't know where your family are from in Italy Karen, but my people are from Sicily & Calabria and the only other meat we put in gravy is pork sausage and pork spare ribs, the pork gives the gravy that extra special flavor I don't use it cause I am not crazy about all the fat and I have made chicken meatballs they are good but they don't flavor the gravy like the beef,pork n veal mix in a regular meatball.

if you want spaghgetti & crabs  put crabs in the gravy, what a dish that is a little messy when trying to eat the crabs