Big Batch Pasta Sauce (Canned)

I've been working on preserving things we use regularly to help reduce the amount of food we buy from the store in the winter. We love our pasta sauce, so I decided to skip the meat that I usually put in it and make a big batch to can so we have homemade pasta sauce without all the work at meal time.

 Big Batch Pasta Sauce

1 cup Olive Oil

3 cups Diced Green Peppers, diced small
2 Stalks of Celery, diced small

3 cups Onions, diced small

10 cloves Garlic, minced

21 cups (6-28 oz cans) Tomatoes, diced

2 cups (16 oz) Tomato Paste 

1 cup Red Wine

2/3 cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Salt

4 tsp Dried Oregano

2 tsp Dried Parsley

2 tsp Dried Basil

2 Bay Leaves

Lemon Juice

In a large stock pot, heat oil. Add peppers, celery, and onions and cook until onion starts to turn clear and brown a bit. Add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds before adding remaining ingredients except lemon juice. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

Sanitize jars, heat canning water, and prepare lids. Just before adding sauce to hot jars add 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice to each jar (lemon juice increases the acidity and therefore you can use a water bath canner instead of a pressure canner). Fill jars with hot sauce, leaving 1/2" headspace. Wipe rims clean. Add hot self-sealing lids and screw on the rims. Place jars in a boiling water bath canner and ensure water is covering jars at least 1". Return water in canner to a boil and cook for 40 minutes. Remove jars from canner and let cool for 24 hours. Any jars that do not seal should be refrigerated. 

Now you can have homemade pasta sauce without waiting hours for the sauce to simmer.  You just need to add cooked ground beef and any other fixings you desire and you have an easy & fabulous spaghetti sauce.

If you're new to canning, basic canning instructions can be found at www.simplycanning.com.

~Adel~