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I can't help but weigh in on the pasta sauces--I've been sitting on my hands
ever since the discussion started. First, I know it's personal taste & all
that, but I've always thought that, as jarred sauces go, the Classico sauces
were far better in taste & consistency than Prego. The FAQ on their web site
states that all their red & white sauces are gluten free,
http://www.classico.com/flavors/faqs.aspx.

But, beyond all that, it's incredibly easy & considerably cheaper to make a
huge batch of basic sauce & freeze it in zipper bags for use as needed. My
base recipe is:

1 large can crushed tomatoes or tomato puree, no salt added
1 large can whole tomatoes in puree, no salt added
onion to taste, diced
garlic to taste, diced
several stalks celery, diced
1 or 2 bay leaves
dried or fresh basil and/or oregano to taste
paprika (choose your heat--I go for hot) or cayenne, to taste, but use a
light hand
one or two grinds of sea salt or a pinch of kosher salt (just enough to
highlight the taste of the tomato & herbs, not drown it in salt)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
olive oil (preferably extra virgin), at least a couple of tablespoons
1/2 to 1 cup good red wine (if it's not good enough to drink, don't cook
with it)

Heat the oil in a saucepan--use 2 TBS if it's a nonstick pan, at least a
quarter cup if it's not. Saute the onion over low to medium heat until
golden brown. Add garlic, saute until golden brown. Add celery, bay leaf,
basil, oregano, paprika or cayenne, and black pepper. Saute until celery is
soft and herbs and spices give off a good aroma. Add the cans of tomato
product, breaking the whole tomatoes into chunks with your hands or a
utensil. Bring to a simmer, add salt. Simmer at least 1/2 hour. Add wine.
Simmer another 15 minutes or so. Cook time from start to finish is no more
than 2 hours, including all prep time. Since most of this is unattended
cooking time, you can make this sauce while working on other stuff. You can
scale it up as much as you want, or have room, to freeze. (As an aside, I
don't have kids, so maybe this is an unrealistic amount of time to spend
even on a make-ahead, but I did use this a lot when I was employed as a
"mother's helper", cooking for a family with 4 kids between the ages of 7
and 14. It was also a mainstay during my grad school years.)

You can modify this by using diced fresh sauce tomatoes and water or
vegetable stock instead of the canned product, but then you'll have to
simmer it for several hours. Optional additions are sliced mushrooms (use
more oil, add with or after celery, saute until they give up their liquid
and start to absorb it again, becoming golden brown), sliced eggplant (same
rule as for mushrooms), vodka instead of wine, toasted pine nuts. This is,
obviously, a vegetarian sauce. If you want meat sauce, cut back on the oil,
add broken up ground beef (chuck, round, or sirloin) or Italian sausage (or
andouille, chorizo, kielbasa--pick your preferred flavor here) with the
celery and seasonings, saute until cooked, then proceed with the rest of the
recipe. The meat will usually give up enough fat to keep itself from
sticking, so you only need to use a small amount of oil to saute the onion
and garlic. You can also make & store the base sauce, and prepare any of
these additions at meal time.

Joe Ellison
Chicago, IL
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Do not let the merely urgent interfere with the truly important

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