Marinara Sauce

In my family, pasta is frequent. Being 50% Italian, I've been blessed with a family of great cooks and lots of homemade dinners. My memory of growing up was pasta for dinner half of the days out of the week (though I don't know how accurate my memory is). I've always been taught there were two types of red sauce: marinara and "meat" sauce. I can't choose a favorite; it really depends on what mood I'm in. Our other nickname for marinara is "quick" sauce. It's the one that can be made without hours of sitting in a big pot. My mom recently emailed me the recipe so I thought I'd share it with everyone. Think of yourselves as pretty lucky, because this is a cherished family recipe. My grandmother, the great Italian cook my dad inherited his skills from, is the original source of this recipe.

1 28oz can of canned tomatoes (we use Pastene "Kitchen Ready" brand)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
6-8 leaves of fresh basil (or a couple tbsps of dried basil)
2 tsp sugar

Saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat in a 3 quart pan. Then add basil, tomatoes and sugar. Continue to heat until it begins to bubble, then reduce the heat to medium-low or low. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve over pasta.

If your sauce tastes too acidic, add more sugar!