If you didn't know by now, I am a gardener. I'm still pretty new to it. This is only my third year. But if you want to set up a strawberry bush for deer, I can help! This year I decided to grow an herb garden, a must for any foodie. Let me tell you, best decision I've ever made. I'm very excited about my herb garden. It's growing beautifully and abundantly. Two of the herbs I'm growing are oregano and basil. It feels great to have these two on hand to use whenever I please. And I intend to use them a lot. Remember, I'm kind of an addict of Italian food. Well, on Friday, it was time to make some pizza. I take my homemade pizza a little too seriously. Books and forums were involved in finding the perfect pizza dough. I researched the best melting cheeses and of course, played around with sauce recipes. A little much for just pizza? Nope. To me, it's all worth it.

Pizza is one my favorites, if you love it too you might want to check this new post on homemade pizza calories & nutrition facts with chart. Who could hate pizza? Seriously? Cheesy, saucy, crunchy....it has it all. I'm the type that loves lots of cheese and lots of sauce on my pizza. Who could blame me with this sauce? It's so easy to make, but so flavorful. The garlic and herbs are noticeable and the mouthfeel of this sauce is just how it should be. It's a no-cook sauce which is a bonus. No need to sit there for hours, while your leg is falling asleep and kids are running around the house, to watch a sauce simmer. Nope. I like this method better. Just dump it and blend it. It's that easy. This sauce is a very good base. If you'd like to use San Marzano's, you can. If you want more garlic or salt and pepper, go for it. It's flexible, easy and so delicious. The sauce is an important building block to building your ultimate homemade pizza. Don't overlook it and just put some jarred junk on there. I love you too much to let you do that to yourself. Step away from the jar and get started on this recipe.

Gather all your ingredients. You may substitute diced tomatoes with San Marzano peeled tomatos. You can add more garlic as well. Lastly, if you are using fresh basil that is larger, chiffonade it to ensure it will be properly blended. Slice the garlic into a rough chop.

In a bowl, pour in the tomatoes and tomato paste.

Dump in the garlic slices, basil, oregano, salt, sugar, olive oil and black pepper, if you're using pepper.

With an immersion blender or regular blender, begin pulsing until the chunks of garlic is broken down and the sauce is uniform.

Place in container in fridge until ready to use. Make sure your sauce is at room temperature a couple hours before putting on your pizza. Never put cold sauce on dough.