As offensive as it may be to Italian readers, I must confess that I grew up on jarred tomato sauce, Chef Boyardee and even still have an appreciation for Stouffer’s frozen lasagna. I remember feeling like such a bad influence in college when I peer pressured my first-generation, Sicilian-American friend into eating a can of Spaghettios for dinner; the overly sweet sauce, mushy noodles and metallic aftertaste were simply no match for the authentic recipes she was used to.

We eat pasta often and if we’re pairing it with red sauce, it’s usually what’s on sale that week, partly because I’m zero percent Italian and, therefore, don’t have a centuries old, delicious family recipe to rely on. But I’ve also always assumed homemade sauce required days of preparation, lots of labor and hours of boiling and peeling tomatoes before anything resembled a sauce.

I decided to ride the rejuvenation I’ve felt with the start of 2016 and am considering, as I make my weekly grocery trips: What, on this list, can I make from scratch? If I’m craving chocolate, why not make brownies if I have all of the ingredients? Or, can I dress up my side of rice with herbs and spices instead of making something with a flavor pouch? And, better yet, with two cans of plum tomatoes, I can make a really tasty tomato sauce.

Thanks to this recipe, tweaked a bit from Bon Appetit magazine, I mustered the courage to venture outside the world of jarred sauce. It was easy, cheap and definitely delicious.

Basic Tomato Sauce

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 medium carrot, grated

1 tablespoon dried oregano

2-28 oz.cans whole peeled Italian plum tomatoes

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, salt and pepper; cook, stirring often, until onions are soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until softened, but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add carrot and oregano and cook, stirring occasionally, until carrot is soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often to break up tomatoes, until sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes. When sauce is finished, use a wooden spoon or potato masher to break up tomatoes. Serve topped on pasta.