Almost Scratch "No Chunks" Tomato Sauce

A good tomato sauce is the key to so many Italian dishes. When I'm in a hurry, I stick with my simple, "No Chunks" Tomato Sauce, but if I have time for slow cooking, the flavors of this "almost" from scratch sauce cannot be beat. (I say almost because I still used canned tomato sauce, not whole tomatoes) Since I prefer my sauce "chunkless" I use my handy immersion blender at the end of the cooking process for a smooth texture. While I often use Italian sausage, this sauce would be equally good with ground beef or turkey, or even meatless. 

2-3 ribs celery, chopped 

1 red onion, diced

1-2 carrots, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. butter

Salt & pepper

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. basil

½ - 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 (28-oz) cans tomato sauce

½ cup red wine

1 tsp. sugar

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage

Saute celery, onion, carrots, and garlic in butter until softened; season with salt and pepper. Add Italian seasoning, basil, and red pepper flakes; stir to coat vegetables. Add tomato sauce, wine, and sugar and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer 2-3 hours. (Can also be cooked in a Crockpot for 4-6 hours)

Brown sausage in a skillet. While sausage cooks, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce. (If you do not have an immersion blender, mix, in batches, in a regular blender) Add browned sausage to sauce; simmer 5-10 minutes more. Serve with preferred pasta.