How much money do you spend on buying jarred tomato sauce for your pasta or homemade pizza? This went through my mind recently when I put two jars of spaghetti sauce in my grocery cart. But cooking homemade tomato sauce saves cash in the long run! The cost of the sauce ingredients are pretty minimal and you can save about half of what it costs to buy sauce at the grocery store!
Making homemade sauces or soups in bulk, that have the ability to be frozen is key to living fabulously frugal. And the taste of homemade sauce just can’t be beat! It’s just so easy to make your sauce by throwing all the ingredients in a slow cooker.
Your slow cooker has plenty of benefits in the kitchen and they are energy efficient, according to Cooking Manager.
- Flexibility in the length of cooking time.
- Can be prepared well in advance and forgotten.
- Portable: can be removed from the kitchen in hot weather or brought to a hospital or hotel room (if permitted).
- Easy way to use up leftovers.
- Great variety of recipes for one-pot meals.
- Can be used creatively for hot cereals, puddings, cakes and more
So pull out that slow cooker and cook up about five cups of tomato sauce with this easy recipe from About.com:
Ingredients:
- 4 lbs tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 of a large onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. basil
- 1-1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
1. Toss all of the ingredients into the Crock Pot (the tomatoes can go in whole).
2. Cover and cook on low for several hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the tomatoes have broken down, uncover; and continue cooking until you reach the desired consistency (expect it to take at least eight hours).
4. Run the tomato sauce through a food mill to remove the seeds and peels, or give everything a quick spin in a blender or food processor.
5. Pour your finished sauce into jars, taking care not to fill past the headspace line.
To Freeze: Allow the containers to cool. Then, place in the freezer. Use within a year, for the best quality.
Leave a Reply