GARDEN CHERRY TOMATO (AND SHHHHH!-ZUCCHINI) SPAGHETTI SAUCE

Heat the olive oil in a large (5-6 quart) Dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add the shredded zucchini, salt, pepper, and Ciao Bella Italian seasoning to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, letting the zucchini soften and release some of it’s moisture.

Add the tomatoes to the pot.  Cover the pot (leave a small vent for some steam to escape) and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the cover and reduce to a low boil.  Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the tomatoes are all very soft and ‘bursted’.

Place the sauce in a blender and blend until smooth (take care to carefully pulse first so the hot sauce does not erupt of the blender) – you can also use an immersion blender to puree the sauce directly in the pot if you have one.

Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week.  This sauce also freezes beautifully for up to 6 months.

*I call this SHHH Zucchini because you don’t even know it’s in there.  It’s a great way to use up that bounty of garden zucchini and get more veggies into your kiddos without them even knowing!!  That said, if you don’t have zucchini or don’t want to use it you can just sub out 2 additional cups of tomatoes.