Dukan Mushroom Marinara

We loved this recipe!

We've had this recipe for a while now...we wrote it down on a piece of paper, threw it in our old recipe box intending to eventually type it up -- of course we can't even remember where we found it!  The male half of this couple LOVES pasta with marinara -- doesn't have to be anything special, but the marinara has to be flavorful.  He really enjoyed this one (even though it isn't exactly like the one from Island Subs and Burgers here in Manoa).

We used this marinara in a baked pasta dish -- it's my practice run for the male half's upcoming birthday dinner.  He dislikes going out to eat, so he always requests Baked Ziti for his birthday.  This marinara may end up in our Birthday Baked Ziti dish!

We recommend making this sauce a day before.

This is a Dukan'd recipe.  It is almost Paleo -- we already had crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce in our kitchen, so we did not use organic -- so we're calling it Paleo - ish!

RECIPE:
Sorry, I forgot to measure how many cups of sauce this made, but we mixed it with pasta and filled two - 9" foil pans to the top with the pasta/marinara mixture.
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: at least 2 hours 5 minutes

2 tsp. olive oil (or nonstick spray)
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
6 oz. button mushrooms, minced (we minced them because the male half doesn't like the texture)
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 - 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped
1 T. fresh basil, chopped small
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. fennel seeds, crushed
1 t. natural sweetener (we used Xylitol)
1 pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
kosher or sea salt and pepper to taste

The finished product - Baked Penne
will post recipe soon!

Heat oil in a pot (we used our stir fry pan because the male half's pots are not non-stick) over medium heat.  Add the onions and mushrooms and saute until tender.  Add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring frequently.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer for at least 2 hours, stirring every once in a while.

Cool and keep for future use or use immediately on pasta or shirataki noodles like the Nasoya brand pasta or with Dukan meatballs, etc.

Enjoy...we sure did!