Saucy pants

Okay people, so I thought I'd try the thing where I try to teach y'all how to make food again, but this time, I decided to do something that I legitly know how to cook.

Tomato sauce is something that I eat sometimes. It can go on pasta, lasagna, or homemade pizza (but I'd use less warter in the sauce if I made a pizza).

I learned how to make my own sauce when I was in the Russia. We always bought tomato paste, so I learned by ear how to mix the right amount of water and spices to make the perfect sauce. And this sauce is perfect. You start with a tiny can of tomato paste and end up with a whole ton of suited-to-you tomato sauce. Look at you, fancy pants.

Turn this ...

... into food.

Ingredients

6 oz. can of tomato paste
1 C water
1/4 onion
1 1/2 t garlic powder
1 T basil
1 1/2 t oregano
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper

Step 1: The onion

Onions are the basis of taste in so much food. They're a staple to basically any stove-top recipe. A lot of the flavor in soup, sauce, and stir fry recipes is dependent on the onion. If you're cooking something and it's lacking that flavorful boom chicka chicka, chances are you're missing your onion (or garlic, but that comes later).

Start by peeling your onion. Onions are like ogres: they have layers. The top layer (or two) is papery -- you don't want that. Peel it off and throw it away. The layer beneath that is rubbery. You don't want that either; throw it away. The layers beneath that should be crisp and easy to cut through: that's what you want. (This may be "duh" to some of you, but having lived exclusively with guys for the past four years, I know that things like this aren't always intuitive.) Cut a quarter out of your onion and chop it into baby pieces (like, a quarter the size of a french fry or smaller). Throw it into a pan greased with cooking spray, oil, or butter. Heat it to a quarter or half heat. Cook until the onion pieces start to become transparent. You don't want them to turn brown or crispy-looking.

I used red onions, butt it doesn't matter.

Step 2: The sauce

While that's cooking (you can do this step while the onions are cooking if you keep your eyes on them), y'all need to mizz your water with your tomato paste. Dump the insides of your can of tomato paste into a big-ish bowl (like, a big cereal bowl, nothin' huge, though). Once you did this, dump that 1 cup of warter on top. Mix with a fork (or hand) and you'll get a saucy mizzture.

It looks like tomato poop lol.

Tomato diarrhea!

Step 3: Get the Spice Girls

Next, you're gonna want to flavor your sauce. You can just pour the seasonings into the bowl with your tomato-paste-now-tomato-sauce.

1 1/2 teaspoons of Garlic Powder: Like onions, garlic powder is a necessary part of ANYTHING tasting good. Life would be so bland without it. I hear tell it's more flavorful than actual garlic but doesn't make your breath smell abhorrent. Wow. If you cook something, but it's lacking something, throw some extra garlic powder in to fix it.

1 tablespoon of Basil: A delicate herb, it'll make the sauce taste fresh.

1 1/2 teaspoons of Oregano: Given my extensive knowledge of Italian cooking, I can say that oregano is THE Italian spice. Your tomato sauce won't taste like tomato sauce without it. Likewise, if you ever has a pizza that needs a pick-me-up, sprinkle some oregano on it.

1 teaspoon of Salt: Not too much, but just the right amount with make all the other flavors come out (#everysundayschoollessonever).

1/2 teaspoon of Pepper: Packs a punch that your sauce will be boring without.

Mizz all the seasonings with your tomato sauce and stick your finger in it to see if it tastes how you want. #magic

Step 4: Mizz

Pour your bowl of seasoned sauce into the pan of now-cooked onions and heat until the sauce is warm. Then put it on pasta and eat it.

You turned a tiny can of tomato paste into a panful of tomato sauce. That's a big deal, saucy pants.

So this is a super easy recipe that'll save you all the monies in the world and allow you to make a sauce that really speaks to you. Obviously, you can add anything to it that you want (like cooked ground beef or veggies). Is this great or what?