Chunky Garden Vegetable Spaghetti Sauce

When we were living in Oregon, I remember, a couple times, my mom making this really yummy spaghetti sauce from scratch.  I remember it had a lot of big chunks of veggies in it and it smelled really good!  When I was thinking about what I wanted to make for Sunday dinner this week, I kept thinking, "I just want some pasta with some really good sauce."  (My recent trip to Italy has spoiled me, however, when it comes to pasta.  I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with store-bought pasta again.)

So, I asked mom if she still had the recipe and she did!  I made it last night (because we're having a party at the house tonight and didn't want everything smelling like onions and garlic) and it turned out just as great as I remember it being.  I cooked up some of my favorite gluten free pasta to go with it and steamed some zucchini as a side.  For the gluten eaters in my family I also had a loaf of french bread and made them some regular pasta as well.  This recipe is super easy to make and it's really cheap as well, if you're able to get stuff on sale at the grocery store.  I think my batch this week only cost me about $10 and it made a HUGE pot!!

Here's the recipe:

56 oz. can diced tomatoes
58 oz. can tomato sauce
3 c. chopped onion
2 c. chopped green bell pepper
5-6 c. chopped mushrooms
1 T. garlic, minced
2 T. white wine vinegar
2 t. Mrs. Dash
2-3 stems fresh basil, leaves taken off and stems discarded

Simmer all ingredients (except basil) 1+ hour.

Add basil.  Cook 30 minutes.

*Cover the sauce as it's cooking if it's getting too think.  Uncover it if it needs to thicken.