I make this recipe at least once a week.  We stretch it out over two meals-1/2 for speghetti & 1/2 for homemade pizza.  We love it!
I do not miss the over- priced, usually way too sweet, pre-made jar sauces AT ALL! I love that this is not much more work then opening a jar, but makes the house smell like I have been cooking all day!
I found the recipe here at 101 Cookbooks.  She writes an excellent post about this simple sauce.  She explains that this is not the sauce you are looking for if you are wanting a meat-filled hearty sauce (although we sometimes add some ground beef and it tastes great!)  This is a fresh, light, pure tomato sauce, and IT IS GOOD!   I usually buy whole -grain pasta because it is full of fiber, protein and iron, (the brand I used in the pictures below has 7 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber in a 2 oz size serving) which is very important especially when eating a meat free meal, and it keeps my family full much longer then the white stuff. There is nothing worse than kids begging for food a half hour after dinner!
I use this recipe when we make homemade pizza, it is so fresh and yummy. I grew herbs this summer and the pizza we made with fresh mozzarella and this sauce and shreds of fresh basil….mmm… to die for! I have also made pasta dishes with this sauce and added a splash of heavy cream at the end with some some peas and parmesean cheese, and turned it into a whole different, super creamy, luxurious dish.

The last time I made this sauce, I accidently bought a can of diced tomatoes, so that is why I got out the hand blender, my family does not like chunks! I make a few other changes to the recipe.   I go easy on the red pepper flakes, as my girls don’t like spicy.  If I have lemons on hand, I’ll use them, but if I don’t I’ll add a splash of lemon juice from the bottle, it is amazing how just a touch of acid really brightens up the flavor. If I do use zest, I find the zest of a whole lemon is a bit too much lemon flavor for me, so I half it.  I also add about a Tbls of sugar if my tomatoes are too tangy. Depending on how much water the tomatoes have in them, you may need to simmer the sauce down a bit if it looks a little watery, which turns the 5 minute sauce into a 10 minute sauce- no big deal.
I make sure I keep an eye out for canned, crushed tomatoes on sale and stock up when they are.  As she says in the recipe below, the brand of tomatoes is VERY important.  There is a huge difference in taste, so go for the good brands.  I think the same goes for the olive oil, buy the best you can afford, the more expensive italian brands are so worth the extra money because they are sweet and have no after taste.
Give this sauce a try!  It may become your go- to, always- have- the- ingredients- on- hand, simple meal as it is ours!

           Five Minute Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 28-ounce can crushed red tomatoes
zest of one lemon