Needed Dinner Fast
Last Tuesday got crazy real quick. Was rushing home after work traffic jammed forever. Opened my fridge and nada – just ketchup and half an onion staring back. But hey my pantry always got those 3 trusty soldiers: canned tomatoes olive oil and garlic powder. Figured screw ordering pizza let’s make sauce from scratch.
Grab Gear & Start Cooking
Slapped my cheapest saucepan on stove cranked burner to medium high. Poured glug of olive oil – couple tablespoons maybe. While that heated up grabbed can opener pop open tomato can. Didn’t even drain it just dumped whole thing in pan splatters everywhere. Heard that awesome sizzle sound.
Sprinkled in garlic powder like confetti – eyeballed teaspoon maybe teaspoon and half. Then salt pepper rain started maybe 10 good shakes each. Started stirring like crazy with wooden spoon. Broke tomatoes into chunks while bubbling away.
Simmer Down Now
Turned heat way low when saw first volcano bubbles. Left lid half cocked let steam escape. Set phone timer 15 minutes cause I always forget stuff cooking. Stirred every couple minutes while watching reality show on tablet. Saw sauce getting thicker darker red nice shine on top.
Taste test at 12 minutes – burned tongue like dummy. Added 2 more salt shakes and sugar pinch balance the acid. Remembered that trick from some chef show.
Final Result
Poured sauce over spaghetti noodles looked legit restaurant style. Took first bite and holy crap – tasted way better than jarred stuff. Garlic punch hit first tomato tang followed olive oil smoothness. Kid even ate seconds without complaining miracle.
Total time start cleanup under 30 minutes. Cheap too maybe dollar fifty for whole batch. Next time trying red pepper flakes see if gives kick. Damn good life hack when pantry empty trust me.