I crave red sauce.  Strange craving for a girl that grew up strategically dipping chips into salsa so as not to get a tomato chunk.  And I still won’t consume unmarinated/raw tomatoes.  In fact, I specifically exclude them whenever ordering a restaurant meal.  But there’s something about red sauce these days that makes my mouth water.

I say these days as if I don’t remember the exact moment I became a fan.  But I do.  In 2007, I ordered calamari from a quaint Italian restaurant in Ybor City, Laughing Cat.  From the moment I dipped the first tube, I was hooked.  I thought perhaps I was solely addicted to their red sauce.  Not the case.  I wanted any red sauce, every day, all the time.  Obsessive?  Most definitely.  But that’s kind of how I roll.

If you’re interested in my super simple, veggie packed sauce…

– 1 tablespoon of olive oil
– 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
– 1 yellow onion, chopped
– 8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
– 1 can of organic diced tomatoes, drained
– 1 can of organic tomato sauce
– 6 oz of fresh baby spinach
– salt and pepper to taste

Slightly brown the garlic in the olive oil.  Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until they are tender.  Add the cans of tomatoes and bring to a simmer.  Then gradually fold in the spinach leaves until they are wilted (it’ll seem like way too much spinach, but it’s not).  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and serve atop your preferred gluten free carb.

If a dish free of meat freaks you out, try adding ground turkey.  Usually, if I add the turkey, I ditch the noodle.