Since I’ve been cooking every day for almost two weeks, I’ve gotten to where I’m having trouble coming up with a new recipe to make every day—because I have all these leftovers I need to eat, even though most of these recipes only make 1–2 servings.

Today’s “recipe” is taking one of the meals from earlier this week, The Most Delicious Meatballs in the World. As I mentioned in that post, I adapted a recipe from another blog, and on the other blog, it recommended finishing off the meatballs by stewing them in marinara/spaghetti sauce. That sounded really good to me, but on the day I made the meatballs, I didn’t have any tomato sauce in the house.

Today for lunch, I decided to try them the way the original recipe suggested—and I’m so glad I did!

Super-Easy Italian Tomato Sauce

• 1 can no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 1/2 to 1 Tablespoon dried basil*
• 1 to 2 teaspoons dried oregano*
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon garlic powder*
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon onion powder*
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Splenda*
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flake

*Italian tomato sauce is something that’s very subjective—you may like yours with more basil and less oregano, or just the opposite. You may not like yours spicy at all, thus you’d leave out the red pepper flake. You may like it heavy on the garlic. My suggestion is to add the lowest amount listed, let the sauce cook for fifteen minutes, taste, and if it’s not exactly how you like it, add more of the desired ingredients.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients (starting with the smallest measurements of the herbs/spices). Stir until well combined. Bring to a “bubble.” Cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer 10–15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. If you add more herbs/spices, let simmer another 10 minutes before serving.

8g net carbs per 1/2 cup serving

To eat with leftover meatballs:
If you plan to use all four servings of meatballs, you’ll need to cook the sauce in a large saucepan instead of medium. Once the sauce is seasoned to taste, add meatballs, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve piping hot dressed with fresh basil or Parmesan (just be sure to count in any extra carbs garnishes might add).