Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or spray pans with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add all of the fresh vegetables (celery through bell peppers) and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Turn to coat vegetables. Divide vegetables between baking sheets, making sure they are in an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes then flip the veggies and bake for another 15 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.

Meanwhile in a large pot over medium heat, add tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and sugar. Allow this to start heating. Once vegetables are done, add them into the sauce. With an immersion blender (see note), puree all of the vegetables with the sauce until no more chunks remain. Bring sauce to a boil then lower the heat to low, cover and simmer on low heat for two hours.

Serve over pasta or spaghetti squash.

Note: If you do not have an immersion hand blender, puree the roasted vegetables in a blender in batches, then add into the sauce.