Do you use jar spagetti (marinara) sauce?

[Parrothead]

Just curious. I mostly make mine from scratch. Sometimes I'm out of tomatoes and short on time. Then I use canned tomato sauce.

[NanceXToo]

Jarred, definitely. I love Belletiere's Marinara Sauce, and Simply Enjoy Marinara Sauce. They're not as sweet and thick as some other jarred sauces, they are very pleasing! :D

[nukeswife]

I've never found a recipe for homemade that we all enjoyed, so I just stick with Prego Traditional from a jar.

[AndyJoy]

I use Hunt's Zesty & Spicy in a can. It is $.99 for a large can. Tomatoes are $3/lb. for the majority of the year.

[Jen in PA]

I had to go with other because sometimes I make it and sometimes I buy it.

[Mrs Mungo]

Other: I usually make it from scratch, particularly if we will be eating it as spaghetti. Sometimes I use jarred, particularly if I'm short on time or it's for ziti or lasagna. I doctor it up a bit in those cases.

[HRAAB]

Mine is jarred, but homemade with our own tomatoes and veggies, then canned - so I voted other since I thought you meant bought off the shelf.

[Matryoshka]

I chose other because there wasn't a "most of the time". :tongue_smilie:

 

I used to always make my own, but then I had kids and spaghetti became one of my "easy" dishes - as all I do is boil noodles, defrost meatballs and pour sauce on it. We like TJ's Organic Marinara.

 

Lately I've been making spaghetti squash - it really needs homemade sauce, or it's not all that spaghetti-like. So I make my own for that - I'd forgotten how much yummier it is!! I've been making big batches and freezing it, so microwaving a squash and defrosting my own sauce is almost as easy as my jarred stuff with dried pasta - though I still make the latter almost once a week... currently don't have a squash and ran through my frozen sauce supply...

[Caitilin]

Ours is Paul Newman's Sockarooni from a jar--like Matryoshka, it's quick meal for us, so jar is good. Plus, though I consider myself a decent cook, spaghetti sauce is not something I have successfully made and had taste good. :D

[happi duck]

Other

Pasta with jarred sauce is a great go to for nights that are crazy busy.

Sauce from scratch is for nights we are home. We consider them two different types of meals, KWIM?

[KidsHappen]

For homemade meals (I do know how but shhhh! don't tell anyone), I use homemade but if I am just serving kids pasta with some kind of sauce, it comes out of a jar.

[Julie in CA]

I use a jar, but I add so much to it that it's not recognizable after I'm finished.

 

Garlic

Onion powder

Crushed red pepper

a variety of italian herbs

Lots of meat (carnivores in my family)

a bit of brown sugar

and whatever else looks good to me at the time!

[gingersmom]

The red stuff in a jar is not allowed in my house.

 

It is so simple to make that even I can't think of an excuse to get out of it.

 

I always have some frozen in my freezer.

[Crissy]

Other: I usually make it from scratch, particularly if we will be eating it as spaghetti. Sometimes I use jarred, particularly if I'm short on time or it's for ziti or lasagna. I doctor it up a bit in those cases.

 

:iagree:

[Truscifi]

Other: I usually make it from scratch, particularly if we will be eating it as spaghetti. Sometimes I use jarred, particularly if I'm short on time or it's for ziti or lasagna. I doctor it up a bit in those cases.

 

:iagree: This exactly.

[*Jessica*]

I make a lot of things from scratch, but marinara is usually not one of them. If we ate more of it that would probably change, but we only eat it about once per month or less. It's one of our too-tired-for-anything-else kind of meals, and making sauce from scratch would defeat the purpose!

 

Are we unusual in that pasta with marinara is a rare meal for us? I would say that I make spaghetti w/ marinara or vodka sauce about six times per year. I make lasagna about four times per year, usually with homemade sauce. I divide the recipe in half, using 8x8 pans so one can go in the freezer, which means it's really only two batches of lasagna made per year. I rarely (like four times in our 10 years of marriage) make ziti or another dish that uses marinara. We use pizza sauce more often, and that is homemade and home-canned. It's basically marinara, I suppose, but seasoned differently. We have a pasta attachment for our Kitchenaid now, so we may start making our own pasta, which would call for homemade sauce!

 

I'm curious how often everyone uses marinara?

[justamouse]

it was one of my marriage vows.

 

"Do you promise to never use sauce from a jar?"

 

"I Do"

 

:001_smile:

 

takes me less than 5 minutes to pull together a marinara.

 

We eat sauce All The Time.

[Vanna]

Francesco Rinaldi does the job for me! :D

[kokotg]

When we have homegrown tomatoes in the summer, I'll make sauce from those. But honestly, my very favorite sauce is Ragu Old World Style. It's what my grandmother always used, so nothing else tastes quite right to me.

[iona]

I've never found a recipe for homemade that we all enjoyed, so I just stick with Prego Traditional from a jar.

 

we like this one too!

[Parrothead]

The red stuff in a jar is not allowed in my house.

 

It is so simple to make that even I can't think of an excuse to get out of it.

 

I always have some frozen in my freezer.

 

I'll buy white (alfredo) sauce, but not the red (marinara). I've never found one that I like well enough to continue using. They are all way too sweet for me.

[missesd]

I do both. Hubby makes scratch, his recipe. I use Prego... and add pepperoni, basil, oregano, etc...

[Firefly]

Both here, too. If I have enough of a harvest from the garden I'll make my own, and use jar (we like Muir Glen Organic Chunky tomato-- tastes the closest to m own) as a back up.

[RoughCollie]

Other. Both.

[MicheleinMN]

Hunt's canned mushroom spaghetti sauce with added diced tomatoes, tomato paste, fresh garlic, sliced mushrooms (fresh), diced roasted zucchini, brown sugar, and some red wine.

 

therefore....I voted other.

Edited December 1, 2010 by MicheleinMN

[Brigitte]

I checked jarred, but sometimes I do make my own.

[K&Rs Mom]

Both here, depending on how much time is available and what's been on sale lately. I recently taught 8yo to make a basic red meatsauce & it was SO good. I don't have a recipe, though, just a basic template & add whatever sounds good, so I can't really duplicate the great ones.

[JoyfulMama]

it was one of my marriage vows.

 

"Do you promise to never use sauce from a jar?"

 

"I Do"

 

:001_smile:

 

takes me less than 5 minutes to pull together a marinara.

 

We eat sauce All The Time.

 

Cute! :lol:

 

But I have to agree, I make it from scratch at least once a week. Last night in fact. It's super easy.

[mytwomonkeys]

yes, but not all of the time. and when i do use it, i always doctor it with my own fixins'

[6packofun]

My favorites are Mid's and Classico Four Cheese. Both do not have corn syrup and taste delish. I do not like huge tomato chunks in my sauce (Classico has some, though).

[iquilt]

I have made it from scratch in big batches for the freezer, but most of the time it's canned sauce. It's a time saver I'm willing to use.

[The Girls' Mom]

I used to use jarred all the time, but now we are trying to eliminate a lot of allergens from our diet, so from scratch it is.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I make it from scratch 90% of the time. I usually make a big batch and freeze it (and I sneak in all sorts of veggies;)). However, in a pinch, I have purchased it in a jar from Trader Joe's.

[awtl]

I put other because most of the time we make it, but there are occasional times that we buy it. When we buy it, it's usually from Aldi's.

[kristavws]

I voted other - I must be that one in the crowd:tongue_smilie:. I generally make my own, but keep a couple of jars on hand if I need to whip out a quick meal.

 

Krista

[BikeBookBread]

I make my own using various canned tomato products.

[StaceyinLA]

I usually make my sauce from scratch, but lately I've been using jarred. Newsman's Sockarooni goes over big with dh. I like it too. I started pricing it out and realized that is just really not cheaper to do this from scratch.

 

Now, if I want to do lasagna or stuffed shells or something, I make my own because I like a smoother sauce.

[AHASRADA]

Wow, I'm actually surprised how many people make marinara from scratch. I didn't think anyone but Italian grandmothers did that :lol:.

 

I have never made homemade marinara (and I don't think my mom or grandmother did either), probably because spaghetti in our family means an extremely quick, easy and cheap meal. I always make sure I have a couple of boxes of pasta and jars of sauce in the pantry so we have something to eat when there's "nothing to eat".

 

Am I wrong in my belief that scratch marinara means peeling, seeding, chopping and slow simmering a ton of (very expensive) fresh tomatoes for hours? How do those of you do it who say you can throw it together in a few minutes?

 

I guess we just aren't pasta foodies, at least not at home ;).

[Soror]

Both. If I see safe sauce on sale at the discount store I buy it- last I bought a bunchy of Organic Muir Glen for cheaper than I could make it. Other times I make it, it is good for a fast meal and with our diet restrictions there are not a lot of those.

[djsmom]

I selected other....I use Ragu Traditional but my husband makes it from scratch so it depends on whose doing the cooking.

[gardening momma]

I use jarred spaghetti sauce and add a can of crushed tomatoes, a pinch of sugar (to take out the tang of pure tomato), cooked ground beef, and lots of oregano, basil & a bit of ground sage. Sometimes I chop & add a small can of mushrooms.

[radiobrain]

As I am married to a real Italian, born in Italia, there is NO WAY I could get away with a canned/jarred spaghetti sauce. We do use canned tomatoes/paste/sauce but nothing pre-prepared and seasoned, like Ragu.

 

We make a giant thing o' sauce almost every week.

 

I even make fresh ravioli and tortellini on occasion. :D

[MamaT]

I make my sauce, not jarred, but do use canned tomatos. It is one thing that my mom cooked well and I use her recipe.

[Abigail4476]

I made sauce from scratch for the first time in April or May of this year, and there is no going back. It. was. awesome! :tongue_smilie:

[mommaduck]

Jarred or canned. I have to admit that I've never made homemade. I guess I just never saw a reason to.

[Daisy]

I proudly announce that I use Trader Joe's Organic Tomato Basil Marinara sauce and we think it is AWESOME.

[sagira]

Well, I voted other as most of the time I make my own, but in a pinch or time crunch I use the bottled kind.

[clementine]

We either make our own (I love, love, love homemade marinara!) or buy Mids. We found it a couple of years ago & it's the best store-bought spaghetti sauce.

[justamouse]

As I am married to a real Italian, born in Italia, there is NO WAY I could get away with a canned/jarred spaghetti sauce. We do use canned tomatoes/paste/sauce but nothing pre-prepared and seasoned, like Ragu.

 

We make a giant thing o' sauce almost every week.

 

I even make fresh ravioli and tortellini on occasion. :D

 

Same here (100% but mine is second generation tho). I sometimes still get jealous of the jar openers.

 

OK, recipe for marinara since someone asked.

 

saute onion (or omit it if you don't like them) in EVOO, add sliced garlic, give a good stir. Add some salt, some red pepper if you like, grate a sweet organic carrot very fine, add that in, open up a huge can of San Marzano tomatoes (A big can is 3.89 at Costco and san marzanos are sweeter than regular canned) blend it up in the blender and toss that in the veggies. Bring to a rapid simmer and wait until it turns orangy. Taste. Adjust salt and pepper. Done.

 

In the summer I add fresh basil, in the winter I use dried oregano. If I'm adding a meat in, I add a few bay leaves.

 

When my MIL makes her sauce I could eat it all by itself out of a bowl. I can smell it as soon as I open the door of my car. *heaven*

Edited December 2, 2010 by justamouse

[Peela]

I am not a puritan when it comes to making from scratch, by any means, but I just dont feel good about jarred sauces. They feel kind of "dead" to me, and they tend to add sugar to them- a lot of sugar in some form or another. I make a very quick and easy tomato sauce by frying an onion and garlic, chopping up some other vegies really small, and adding canned tomatoes- fresh if I have them but they are not usually very cheap except for right now. I add barbecue sauce for flavour.

I have just discovered Quorn mince which makes a great vegetarian bolognaise sauce.

I am sure my version isnt much better than a jarred sauce but at least I know exactly whats in it and I feel better about it.