Homemade tomato sauce from scratch

I have been wanting to try my hand at making my own tomato sauce and this was my first attempt. I decided to alter the recipe a bit & added diced bell pepper and used some cherry tomatoes and little yellow tomatoes in addition to regular tomatoes.

The bunch of basil chopped down to about a half cup.

After briefly boiling the tomatoes I dunked them into an ice bath to cool them down before peeling, seeding and chopping them.

The tomatoes are ready to peel when the skins split in the boiling water.

Once the tomatoes are pureed and ready to go, I sauteed the onions and bell pepper together. Then everything went into the pot to simmer.

This is how it looked going into the pot.

After 3 hours of simmering this is the result:

All in all it turned out well. I think next time I would leave the bell pepper out and make a more basic sauce. I served it over spaghetti noodles with grilled sausage mixed in and a side of rolls. Yum!

Fresh tomato sauce

With tomato season in full swing I have been wanting to try to make my own tomato sauce from scratch. If you don't have time to make it entirely from scratch you can substitute canned diced tomatoes & tomato sauce for the fresh tomato.

Ingredients:

20 ripe tomatoes

6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 onions, chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 C. chopped fresh basil

1/2 tsp. italian seasoning

1/2 C. red wine

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. The tomatoes have to be peeled, seeded and chopped. To make peeling easier the tomatoes should be put into a pot of boiling water for about 2 minutes or until the skin splits. Use a slotted spoon to remove the tomatoes and place them into an ice water bath to cool.

2. Peel the tomatoes, cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Finely chop tomatoes with a sharp knife or use a food processor to blend.

3. Heat oil in a pot, add onion and garlic. Saute until the onion is transluscent. Add tomatoes, basil, italian seasoning, red wine and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and adjusting seasoning as desired. (Alternatively, the sauce could be cooked in a crock pot)

5. Serve over cooked pasta. Extra sauce can be frozen in ziplock bags.

Beef Stroganoff

I am excited to try this. I have left over steak and vegetables that I am going to toss in as well. I do have to go to the market for sour cream, mushrooms and green onions, but I hope this well be an easy dinner. I am also going to buy some wide noodles although this doesn't call for it.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef chuck roast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 ounces butter
• 4 green onions, sliced (white parts only)
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef broth
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup white wine
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Remove any fat and gristle from the roast and cut into strips 1/2 inch thick by 2 inches long. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of both salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and brown the beef strips quickly, then push the beef strips off to one side. Add the onions and cook slowly for 3 to 5 minutes, then push to the side with the beef strips.
3. Stir the flour into the juices on the empty side of the pan. Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and stir in mustard. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
4. Five minutes before serving, stir in the mushrooms, sour cream, and white wine. Heat briefly then salt and pepper to taste.

Call for Recipes

I think I need you guys to help me think of something for dinner! I have lost some steam. What about everyone posting their favorite dinner recipe and then we can all make it!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

This recipe was fairly easy to make, although it ended up taking longer than I thought. My vegetable peeler was no good for peeling the sweet potatoes (maybe I need a new one...) so I ended up having to peel them with a knife which took a little longer. Also, for some reason the water & potatoes took forever to boil. Aside from that the process went pretty well. I doubled the recipe because I happened to have 4 sweet pototaoes. I used pre-minced ginger and cilantro to save time (the kind you buy in a tube in the refrigerator section of the produce department). I thought the cilantro was a bit strange with sweet potato, I don't know if I would add it the next time I make it. I served the mashed sweet potato as a side dish with baked chicken & sauteed squash, yum!

Sweet Potato Mash

I made this and it was amazing! No photos, but trust me- you will love this as a side dish!

 

Makes: 2 servings

Time: 10 mins 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 Sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp Fresh ginger, shredded
2 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Honey
As needed Milk
2 tbsp Fresh Cilantro or Basil, chopped
To taste Salt

Notes / Directions:

 

Cook sweet potatoes and ginger in saucepan of boiling water for 5-7 minutes or until tender; drain. Transfer to bowl; mash potato with butter, honey and enough milk for smooth consistency. Stir in cilantro or basil and salt to taste.

Chili Review

 I was impressed with this recipe. I made two batches, one with ground beef and the other without and one in the crock pot and the other on the stove. I bought multiple kinds of canned beans to add variety- black, pinto and an accidental re-fried! The crock pot needed some thickening so I added a small can of tomato paste which seemed to help. I also added some cornstarch water to thicken it up.

This was good with corn bread on the side with 

cheese and sour cream on top. Pretty easy. I would make it again.