OhMy Spaghetti Sauce

Ok, I know I already posted my crock pot spaghetti sauce, but here's a new one, and I think it's even better! Plus, it's a great way to hide extra veggies for those picky eaters you know and love, and it's excellent either with meat or without. I'm going to post the vegetarian version, since that's what is pictured here.

That is actually a picture of our stuffed manicotti, a joint effort at our house. The whole dish is a bit of a pain (although very worth it), so I'm not posting it here. But the sauce works fantastically in this, or spaghetti, or pizza...

1 can Rotel tomatoes (as always, sub regular diced tomatoes if you don't like spicy)
1 large can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 or 3 carrots
1 squash (yellow or zucchini -- great either way)
1 small can black olives
1/2 an onion
garlic
dill
onion powder
butter

The only annoying part of this recipe is grating the carrots and squash. I use a potato peeler and just keep peeling until I can't hold onto the vegetable anymore. You could also use a cheese grater. So, grate the carrots and the squash, whichever way works best for you.

Next, melt some butter in a saucepan over medium heat and briefly saute some minced garlic in it. Then add the carrots and squash and saute them for a few minutes while you dice the onion. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, olives and onion. Mix well, then add the dill and onion powder (you know I don't measure seasonings! Just add however much looks right!) and mix well again. Keep stirring while you bring the sauce up to a bubble, then reduce heat to very low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally.

Here's the thing about this sauce -- the longer you simmer it, the better it's going to be. When we made that manicotti, the sauce simmered for a couple of hours, and it was amazing. As always, if you're in a hurry, you don't HAVE to do it that long, but it's not going to knock your socks off quite the same!

If you don't want to go vegetarian with it (although you really don't miss the meat), just brown 1 pound of ground beef, then add it to the sauce when you add everything else. If you don't want meat, but do want a little more meaty texture, add some mushrooms.