I need a good, homemade spaghetti/tomato sauce. Anyone have a tried and true one? I'm also looking for different sauces for our pasta. We usually do marinara, alfredo or another tomato based spaghetti sauce and it gets boring. Plus I'd like to make it from scratch. ;)

I'm also looking for a good banana bread recipe. Also any yummy muffin recipes, especially ones that use fruit.

Thanks!!

here are two sauces I dearly love on pasta or rice(with or without the meat)
pasta with pumpkin (http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/getrecipe.zsp?id=45199&path=)

Cincinnati Lentils (http://www.recipezaar.com/browse/getrecipe.zsp?id=36854&path=)

my favorite spaghetti sauce isjo mama's famous spaghetti sauce (http://www.recipezaar.com/search/getrecipe.zsp?id=22782&path=)(((((

red sauce:
28 oz can whole tomatoes
15 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste (the smallest-sized one)
6 or more diced garlic cloves
about 2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp dried basil (if you use fresh basil, put it in after it's done cooking and use more basil)
1 tsp salt

put it all in a pot, heat on med til it bubbles then simmer for 30 minutes. then i break up the tomatoes with a stick blender. do it gently, or it'll be funky. or you can break up the tomatoes with a potato masher.

for a different flavor saute mushrooms and onions (or carrots and onions) or green peppers, whatever you like in the olive oil along with the garlic and then add the other ingredients.

we also make a "white" pasta that the kids love.

cook noodles till al dente (medium-sized shells work the best)

put about 1/4 cup olive oil in a large bowl. add 4 or more chopped garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp dried basil (fresh basil tastes best, use more), black pepper (i use a fresh ground and go by taste), 3 or 4 chopped tomatoes. add the drained noodles and toss to coat. this is really yummy with fresh mozzerella chunks.

i have another one, but am out of time to type.

Basic Tomato Sauce:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped in 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved OR 4 pounds Fresh Tomatoes, blanched, skinned and crushed by hand and juices reserved
Chopped fresh basil, to taste
Salt, to taste

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft(this will not take too long so watch carefully.) Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes to one hour until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and basil and serve.
This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Yield: 4 cups

Terrific On Pasta!

Pesto Oil:

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a food processor or blender place the garlic and basil and process on high while adding the olive oil in a steady stream. Continue to process until well blended. Season with salt to taste.

I like this on pasta too. I make up a batch and keep in in the fridge because it is good on bread also!

Avocado Butter:

1 small ripe avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, slightly soft
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (can be omitted with good results)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Puree avocado and lime juice in food processor, or by hand (takes a bit of work to get it very smooth by hand. Helps if the avacado is very ripe.) Add butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper until fully incorporated.

Sometimes I will add a clove or 2 of smashed garlic, or some chopped scallion after it is mixed, or some finely chopped sweet onion. For pasta sometimes I will add diced and seeded tomatoes. It is very versatile.

Thank you for the recipes. :)

Heather, that tomato sauce looks like exactly what I was looking for, thanks! I'm going to try them all but I wanted something that I didn't need canned tomatos for. Thanks everyone!