Roasted the tomatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Wash tomatoes and slice into thick slices. Place onto baking sheet with peeled cloves of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and basil. Bake 30-35 minutes or until shrively-ish.
While tomatoes and garlic are baking, heat olive oil in large pot and brown ground beef and onions together. Add in all vegetables, bay leaves, basil, italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir. Reduce heat to low until tomatoes are done cooking.
Once tomatoes and garlic are finished cooking, spoon into a food processor or blender and pulse until mostly smooth {a few chunks are fine}. Pour tomato sauce into meat along with the can of tomato sauce and the sugar. Stir and bring to boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cook for few hours, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. {I had to add in more salt}
Serve it with pasta/lasagna or Divide into few portions and freeze it
