Favorite Marinara Sauce

Favorite Marinara SauceKids in the Kitchen

Over the weekend, I hosted a few 4th and 5th graders for my Beyond Chicken Nuggets cooking class. I had auctioned it off during our school’s Spring fundraiser.

I believe in the If you teach a man to fish… philosophy. I figure if you teach kids to cook from an early age, not only will they never starve once they are out in the cold, cruel world, but they might actually eat better in the process.

My goal was to introduce this group to some easy recipes that are out of the ordinary, and perhaps a little more adventurous for the elementary school palette.

First up was Paella. In every culture around the world, there is at least one dish that consists of chicken and rice—think of chicken and rice as global comfort food. The only difference is how you spice it, and in some cases how you cook it.

I chose to go with the Spanish version, mainly because it’s something that I make on the regular. And also, it is easy for the kids to throw together—with supervision, of course.

And we also tried to make cream puffs, which are usually not too complicated. But in this case were an epic fail. My guess is we were too focused on our other dishes, so we weren’t patient enough with the puffs. They tasted fine, but they didn’t puff up. So, I sent everyone home with a jar of pastry cream and a spoon…

By far the biggest success of the afternoon was the handmade pasta. All of the kids made their own, from scratch, with very little help from me. And it turned out beautifully.

Fresh pasta may sound daunting, but it’s easy enough that you may never buy dried pasta again. And the flavor difference is incredible! If you want to give it a try yourself, here is a good tutorial.

As for the sauce? The simpler the better, if you ask me. We ate the pasta my daughter made with a fresh tomato and basil cream sauce. But, you can never go wrong however, with my favorite Marinara sauce.

Favorite Marinara Sauce
Using fresh herbs makes all the difference in this quick and easy marinara.
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
28 ounces (1 1/2 cans) crushed tomatoes
6 ounces (1 small can) tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Stir in onion and garlic. Cook until soft.

Next, add tomatoes and tomato paste, and stir to thoroughly incorporate. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Finally, stir in parsley, basil, oregano, salt and pepper, and simmer 15 minutes—uncovered.

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