Momma Marilyn’s Basic Red Sauce (with or without meat)

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 large yellow onion)
4 cloves garlic chopped or pressed through garlic press
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cans diced tomatoes with juice (I use my canned pints and cop them in the jar )
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 cup water  (I add water to the sauce cans and swirl around to get the extra sauce out if the can )
1 teaspoon sugar

Heat the olive oil in a 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt, basil, oregano and black pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and sugar to the pot with the onions, and stir well. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to low, and simmer uncovered for 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally with a long-handled wooden spoon. Taste and add more spices add needed... Usually more oregano.
Remove from the heat, and use as needed. You can store this sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Makes a lot of sauce. You can also brown 1 lb of ground beef with the onion/garlic/spice mixture for meat sauce or brown half ground beef and half Italian sausage (as my mother did). I keep some of this frozen and then add meat balls or cook up ground beef and add to it later. You can also add grilled chicken strips on top of the pasta and sauce at serving time.
Make sure you dress it with parmesan cheese!

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Melt or heat in large saucepan,
3 TBL butter or olive oil

Add:
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped proscuitto (about 4-5 thin slices)
Cook, stirring until softened, about 5 min. Add 2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed\
Cook, stirring, until just starting to look golden, about 2 min.

Stir in:
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/4 cup vodka
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Simmer briskly for 15 min.

Add: 1/2 cup heavy cream and heat through. Do not boil or it will curdle. I do not use cream, but use fat free half and half. It works great and cuts down on the calories.

Add 12 fresh basil leaves chopped.

Meanwhile, boil 1 lb. penne pasta. Drain pasta and mix immediately with sauce. Can use more chopped, fresh basil and romano cheese for garnish.

Pasta with Broccoli

1/4 cup Olive oil or vegetable oil
1 head of broccoli (including stems broken and chopped into pieces)
4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced or crushed
1/2 cup water
salt/pepper
1 - 11/2 cups chicken broth
Boiled pasta

Saute garlic in olive oil until golden. Add broccoli, water, salt/pepper. Simmer 5-6 min. Add 1-1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Meanwhile, boil pasta. After draining, add broccoli mixture. Toss and sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese.