Sicilian Easy Pasta Sauce

This is how my mother taught me to make sauce, with a few of my own touches. It's a little unusual in that all the tomato comes from canned products, but it makes it easy to whip some up. This is a large quantity because I always make enough to freeze. You can make it with any number of meats or without if you prefer. Use the best tomato products you can afford (Campbell's, Contadina). You don't need any salt since the canned products tends to have plenty. I use the low sodium versions when I can find them. To freeze, put cooled sauce in old plastic tubs from whipped cream. When you want to use one, just dip the container in hot water and the sauce will pop out into a saucepan. Heat on low. It will take about the same time to warm up as it does to boil your pasta.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 50
• Yields: 13 pints

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 2⁄3 cup  diced onion (fresh or frozen)
• 1  teaspoon  minced garlic
• 2 (46 ounce) bottles  campbell's tomato juice
• 2 (10 3/4ounce) cans  campbell's tomato soup
• 12  ounces tomato paste
• 1 (26 1/2ounce) carton  strained tomatoes (Pomi, available in Italian markets)
• 1  teaspoon black pepper
• 1  teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tbsp fresh chopped)
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 1  teaspoon baking soda (to cut the acid)
• 3  lbs lean ground beef or 2  lbs Italian sausage or 2  lbs beef stew meat

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in bottom of large sauce pot.
2. Add onion and cook until they are translucent.
3. Reduce heat and add garlic (careful as it burns easily).
4. Add tomato juice, soup, paste, strained tomatoes, pepper, basil and sugar.
5. Add baking soda carefully. It will foam up, be prepared to stir to dissipate the foam.
6. Simmer on low heat.
7. Brown meat in separate pan. Add to sauce when browned.
8. Simmer sauce about 2 hours.
9. Serve over good quality pasta. Some say it needs to rest overnight in the fridge, but who has the patience for that?