This past weekend was quite busy for the husband and me. We ran in a local race on Saturday morning, and then headed to Chattanooga to catch up with college friends and their sweet addition to the family, Tillman. While I don’t have baby fever at all, that little guy was adorable. Accompanying the busy weekend was cold, rainy weather (blah), and I couldn’t think of a better way to wind down our weekend than with a cozy pasta dinner on Sunday night. John and I love to entertain friends and family, but Sunday night was set aside for just the two of us to talk about the upcoming week and relax with a simple, yet savory dish. Last summer, we fell in love with homemade pizzas on the grill. Another simple dinner, but the idea of fire grilled pizza just makes it taste even better! What we loved most was the marinara sauce on the pizza, so I decided to play around with the recipe I had and try a little something for pasta. Along with our spinach fettuccini and tomato dish, we sampled fresh mozzarella and olive tapenade crostini.

Here’s the oh-so-simple recipe I used for the tomato sauce. I’m eager to use my home grown tomatoes during the summer!

Spicy Tomato Sauce

In a large boiler, heat 6 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 minced garlic cloves over high heat until fragrant. Add 2 – 28oz cans of petite diced tomatoes and mash/stir as they cook down. Add in crushed red pepper (I use ¾ teaspoon, but this is very spicy! The red pepper is optional – add any amount that you like). Add a dash of salt and ground black pepper to taste. Simmer and continue mashing tomatoes for about 15 minutes or until at a consistency of your liking.