Cherry Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti

I should warn all my readers (oh, because there are so many of you) that my husband and I have decided to start eating healthy. This means that most of my recipes will be low-calorie or healthier than I would normally make. I will gladly tell you of suggestions to fatten my recipes up, so don't worry my readers who love full-fat recipes.

I recently bulked up on whole-grain spaghetti when my local grocery store was having a great sale on it. I've been trying to figure out a sauce to use for my spaghetti that won't make it too caloric, since the spaghetti is caloric enough. I also realized that I had a package of cherry tomatoes that were about to go south, so I thought I would attempt to make my own low-cal spaghetti sauce. It turned out great!

This is also a great recipe for those gardeners out there who are left with hundreds of tiny tomatoes and do not know what to do with them. You can freeze the sauce and use it later, or make it in bulk and eat it up for a couple of days. Spaghetti is one of those amazing meals that gets better the longer it sits (within reason of course).

This recipe is also amazing because it takes little time and effort. I am not even going to provide you with any how-to pictures, since it's pretty obvious and easy. I hope you make it and enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 package or about 1.5 cups of cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• dash of oregano
• dash of red chili peppers (optional)
• 3-5 leaves of basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• italian cheese of choice (optional)

Directions:

1. Put olive oil in medium-sized skillet and let get hot. 
2. Add garlic and toast until brown, or about 2-3 minutes. Do not let it burn.
3. Add tomatoes, onions, salt, pepper, and herbs to the sauce.
4. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft but are not mushy. While you are letting sauce simmer, cook your pasta as directed. I used whole wheat pasta, but feel free to use whatever pasta you may want. This would be great with penne or angel hair.
5. Serve sauce on top of pasta, and add cheese if you want. Mozzarella or Parmesan would be good choices.
6. Enjoy!

This recipe, when made with whole wheat spaghetti, was about 300-400 calories, which is great for a pasta dish! The sauce is almost calorie-less, except for the olive oil. I hope you enjoy this and feel free to share with me your favorite pasta dishes and how you make them healthier!