Easy Marinara Sauce

A while ago, I wanted to make homemade marinara (red/meat/spaghetti) sauce and searched foodnetwork.com for a good recipe. I tried this one from Tyler Florence, with my own modifications. It was super easy and delicious! The resulting recipe is below.

Ingredients

• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 tsp. crushed garlic
• 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic for 3 to 5 minutes until the onions begin to appear opaque.
2. Add the ground beef. Break up and lightly brown the meat.
3. Pour in the canned tomatoes. Add the Italian seasoning, bay leaf, Parmesan cheese, and sugar. Stir thoroughly to mix flavors.
4. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to your liking. 
5. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes (longer for thicker sauce). Stir occasionally.

Note: The sauce in the picture was made without onion. It did not taste nearly as good!