Spaghetti Sauce

This is one that I'm still working on, since I've only made it once. And I'll admit, the first attempt was almost inedible, but I don't think it had much to do with the recipe... but let's start with that!

Spaghetti Sauce Mix. Usually I just use the Lawry's brand seasoning packets when I make spaghetti sauce, but as with everything else, any pre-made packaged mix like that will probably have a lot of salt. In this case, the nutrition facts say a whopping 600 mg per 1.5 tbsp (from here on out I'll try to include the actual listed sodium content with a link when I can, rather than just pulling numbers from memory). I'm not sure if that means cry or prepared - I'm guessing prepared as directed. And when you keep in mind that a general goal for a low-sodium diet is between 1,000 mg and 1,500 mg? That's a LOT of sodium in just a tiny bit of sauce.

When I started comparing tomato paste at the grocery store, I was surprised. The Kroger store brand has 20 mg per 2 tbsp, while the Hunt's has 105 mg for the same amount. Memory failed me here because we'd tried that tomato paste before and hated it, but my hamster-brain forgot and went "oh! this is a GREAT idea!" Yeah, maybe not so much.

I didn't have any Italian seasoning on hand - I considered getting it at the store, but I was already getting about 6 or 7 other various herbs and spices (minced garlic, minced onion, paprika, etc) so I was a little worried about the price. And Italian seasoning is pretty simple anyway - I already have oregano, thyme, basil and rosemary at home so I just tossed some of that into the mix, maybe a tsp each. Except rosemary, since it was incredibly resistant to being ground up in my hand... maybe one of these days I'll splurge and get a mortar and pestle! I'll fully admit that I have this thing about kitchen gadgets. I just love them, even if I have no real use for them, and even when I WOULD use them a lot I sometimes have a hard time actually buying them. So mortar and pestle goes on my wish list, along with a cast iron skillet. And a bigger kitchen.

I think the mix actually would be fine, but the tomato paste completely ruined the sauce. I tasted a tiny bit when I opened the can and immediately halved the amount of sugar that I put in the dry mix, but the sauce still came out too sweet. Not in a sugar way, but in a weird "maybe those tomatoes were a little off" kind of way. Rotten sweet. It took putting mozzarella cheese on it to make it even slightly palatable, and that's not a good solution. So I think next time I'll give this mix another shot but go back to the Hunt's tomato paste instead. It's still a ton less sodium than the Lawry's packet, and that's the important part.