Sherry's Spaghetti Sauce (Meatless)

Rinse vegetables.

Place 1-2 TBSP canola oil into a 5-6 Qt. Dutch oven.
Chop vegetables into pan while the oil is heating.

Add tomato paste and 8 oz can of tomato sauce to vegetables. Stir well to combine paste and sauce with the vegetables. Once combined, add the oregano, garlic powder, basil, fennel seed, and a pinch of anise seed. (NOTES: Use the spices according to your own taste. Personally, I love a lot of oregano, garlic powder, and sweet basil. Go easy on the fennel seed-just a light sprinkling over the surface of the sauce is perfect. I realized long after I originally shared this recipe that I forgot to list, "Just a Pinch of anise seed." I added it today, but it looks like it was placed at the bottom of the ingredient list. It should appear with the other spices. My apologies for any confusion! Stir again to combine spices with the paste, sauce, and vegetables.

Add 1 jar of commercial spaghetti sauce. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to med-low, cover and let gently simmer for about 45 mins-1 hour, stir occasionally. At this point, I usually start heating the water (plus 1 TBSP canola oil) in another smaller pan to boil my pasta (Use whole wheat pasta for a healthier twist!).

At the end of the cooking time for the sauce (just before your pasta is done boiling), stir the spaghetti sauce once more and evenly sprinkle the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses over the top of the sauce. Do not stir. Just cover the sauce pan again and turn the burner off. Let the cheese melt completely for about 10-15 mins. Once the cheese is melted, stir it well so that it gets all through the sauce. ENJOY!