Pasta Sauce

No, this isn't what we had for dinner, but it has been on my mind lately, so why not go ahead and post it while I have time to write it?

My go-to pasta sauce.  Granted, I'm not The Heavenly Homemaker or the Pioneer Woman or the Nourishing Gourmet, or any of those foodie bloggers out there.  And this isn't entirely my own recipe: I stole ideas from far greater cooks.  But, it has become the go-to pasta sauce in our family, and I must say: I really, really like it.

Here it is:
2 cans Italian stewed tomatoes (I prefer Walmart off-brand, but that's me)
1/2 can of tomato paste
basil pesto, to taste
1-2 tbsp butter (or to taste)

Open can of tomatoes and set them to simmering in medium sauce pan.  (I usually let them simmer with the lid off for 20 minutes while I'm doing other things.)  Give the tomatoes a whir with an immersion blender, or in a food processor or blender to desired consistency.  Sometimes I leave the tomato sauce a little chunky, sometimes I completely cream it.  Stir in the tomato paste, basil pesto, and butter.  The tomato paste gives the sauce some thickness and body.  Adjust pesto for how strong you want your seasonings, and the butter your level of acidity.

That's it.  And it's pretty good.  Okay, it's really good.  Most of your seasoning is done by the already stewed tomatoes and the pesto.  It works really well as a spaghetti sauce (though Eliza prefers it on linguine) or as a pizza sauce.  Sometimes I'll brown up some hamburger and then add the sauce to the pan to deglaze it from the meat and let the sauce and meat cook down a bit together.  This is perhaps my favorite.  But it's super easy, and I can get dinner together in very little time, and my picky-little-eater will eat it. 

Fantastico.