Spaghetti Sauce

I love spaghetti sauce, but finding sauce that is made without corn syrup is often hard. Almost all of them have sugar and while a little is fine, I don't want it to be a top ingredient and for me, the less refined the better. After a summer crop of tomatoes has been canned, there is nothing better then a fresh-made spaghetti sauce served over pasta with a hunk of crusty fresh-baked french bread. Tonight we had chicken parmesan. This is a great dish that is fairly easy to make.

Spaghetti Sauce
2 quarts of canned tomatoes, with liquid
1/4 cup dried onion(3/4 cup fresh, finely chopped)
1 T dried basil
1 tsp powdered garlic(6 cloves fresh, minced)
4 T olive oil
1/2 cup red pepper sauce(or pureed roasted red peppers)
1 T sucanat(optional)
Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. You may want to add salt to taste.


Baked Chicken Parmesan
8 pieces of boneless chicken breast(or breaded patties)
1 pkg of whole wheat spaghetti
1 quart(4 cups) of Spaghetti sauce(see above)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 cup fresh mozarella

Start by baking the chicken till about 10 minutes shy of being done. Usually a 4oz piece of chicken takes about 30 minutes to cook, so cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. I place the boneless skinless breast meat in a lightly greased baking dish. If the breasts are fresh(not frozen), you may want to add a little water to the pan so they dont get dry. If you are using packaged breaded filets, follow the manufacturers directions.

In the meantime you can be making the spaghetti sauce if you haven't already done so. This sauce gets better as it simmers, so if you can make it earlier in the day, do so.

Cook your spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.

Assembly
Spoon about 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 11x17 baking dish. Spread the cooked spaghetti on the bottom. Layer with the partially cooked chicken breast. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan sauce and then place thick slices of mozzarella on top of each piece of chicken. If you are using shredded cheese, concentrate the bulk of the cheese onto of each piece of meat. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until chicken is completely cooked and cheese is melted and bubbly.