Grandma's Tomato Sauce Recipe

This is a recipe I've made with my Italian grandmother for years, so there are no exact proportions. I encourage you to try this yourself and play around with it, based on what flavors appeal to you. It can either be cooked in a crock pot or a saucepan if you have less time. I definitely encourage you to make lots - you'll need more than you think for most pasta recipes and it's awesome frozen and reheated.

• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
• ~4 plum tomatoes, diced
• 14 oz can tomato sauce
• (optional, requires less cooking time) Jar, prepared sauce
• 1 sweet onion diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup red wine
• (optional) 1 lb ground lean beef and/or ground sausage meat
• 2 tsp olive oil

In a deep saucepan (or frying pan if you're doing crock pot cooking), heat olive oil over medium heat, then add garlic and onion. Cook until onion is translucent but not browned. If making meat sauce, add ground meat and brown. If cooking in a crock pot, add these ingredients plus all the rest to the crock pot, and cook on low, covered, for a minimum of 2 hours, then an additional hour uncovered. If cooking in a saucepan, add the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan and cook on med heat until bubbly, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 min, at a minimum.  Ideally, this sauce is actually cooked on low for 2-3 days, with occasional stirring.  I advise you to hold some of the chopped herbs in reserve and then taste several times during the cooking process to assess flavor, adding more as needed.
Number of servings: variable, depending on what you're making, but don't be stingy if you're making lasagna or ziti! - 2 points for the whole batch if making vegetarian sauce, 18 points if making meat sauce, divide points by number of servings. Add 10 points if adding jar sauce to speed up cooking time.