Meat Sauce for Pasta Help

I made pasta sauce with meat last night. It was alright but not tomatoey enough.

I used ground beef, onions, mushrooms, garlic and DeLallo crushed tomatoes with basil. It was meaty but not strong enough on the tomato flavour. I did use the trick of adding baking soda (1/2 tsp) to help brown the meat. I was wondering if that then subdued the tomato flavour?

Any suggestion would help. I did not use tomato paste because I don't make pasta sauce often and I hate opening one can of tomato paste for just a tablespoon or two. If I were to buy tomato paste in the tube, how long would it last?

bon appetit