Homemade Marinara

Tomatoes. Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. 

I have them coming out of my ears. And they aren't even mine! I'll admit, I'm a little nervous as there are easily 30 green tomatoes out on my patio, awaiting their ripening destiny. What am I going to do when mine start coming in? Oh yes, the aforementioned tomatoes are from the hubby's uncle's garden. I used about 15 lbs to make marinara, and I think I've still got another 15 lbs in the fridge. And, I just woke up to a brand new bag of tomatoes on my doorstep. Sheesh. 

If you have tomatoes, tomatoes, and then some more tomatoes, marinara is a great way to use up some of them. I like to simmer my sauce for most of the day, so I don't peel my tomatoes or cut them up very much. After cooking in a stockpot for 5-6 hours, you are going to end up with broken down tomatoes, whether you chopped them or not. It's the perfect sauce if you are feeling lazy.

I mentioned before in my French Dip post that I had a bone leftover from cooking the roast. That bone simmered with this sauce, and made it amaze-balls. It's an almost vegetarian sauce! I'm telling you, bones a make a world of difference. And just think, all you have to do is save one from dinner, freeze it, and throw it in a sauce or soup at your leisure. I really can't advocate this type of recycling enough. It's the easiest way to sneak some incredible flavor into your dish. Another easy way? Save the rinds from your fresh cheese! Cheese rinds are amazing as well. In fact, I simmered a cheese rind in the sauce with the bone.

One more tip that made this sauce da bomb. I found a head of roasted garlic in the fridge, so I threw that in as well. Holy moly, it smelled amazing. I think you could sub plain garlic for the roasted, but dang, why would you want to? My advice? Roast that garlic :)

After simmering the sauce all day, I like to take my emulsion blender to it. Hence the reason I barely chop my tomatoes before I put them in the pot. A quick blend of the pot, and you have amazing homemade sauce. This recipe made a huge pot, I used a couple of cups of sauce for dinner that night, and then ended up freezing the rest. I was able to fill 3 freezer bags! Another batch is in the works, so I'm hopefully thinking I won't have to buy any jarred marinara this winter.

The little brother arrives today, everyone! I'm super excited. I'm off for a quick run, and then off to the airport I go! He's flying into Huntington this time, so a nice, short drive to the airport will be pleasant. And, as usual when I have family in town, I'm guessing the blog will be sporadic next week. I'll probably get back to the normal blogging around the 18th or so. 

Happy Thursday!

Ingredients (makes ~12 cups):

1 tbsp olive oil

1 head garlic, roasted

15 lbs tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp italian seasoning

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

2 bay leaves

roast bone, parmesan cheese rind (optional)

fresh herbs, roughly chopped (parsley, basil, oregano, etc.) optional

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stockpot. When warm, squeeze roasted garlic into pot. Sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add tomatoes through bone and cheese rind (if using). Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and simmer for 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally. 

2. Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove bay leaves, cheese rind, and bone. Discard. Using an emulsion blender, blend sauce until smooth. Add freshly chopped herbs to the sauce, if using. Stir. Serve immediately with your favorite pasta, or begin to cool sauce for freezing. Do not package and freeze until sauce has cooled. 

Printable Recipe

Looking for other ways to use fresh tomatoes? Try these!

Easy Homemade Salsa

Pizza Sauce

Spicy Turkey Spaghetti

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Roasted Garlic and Chicken Flatbread

I'm having one of those days. One of those days when no words will come, and I'm sitting here, staring at my pictures, and feeling inarticulate. I'm stumped. I've followed the normal morning routine- cup of coffee by my side, Chihuahuas in my lap, and Mr. Hummingbird staring me down from the window. Our hummingbird feeder is in the living room window, and normally when he guards the feeder, he faces the yard. Not today. He's facing the house for some reason. As if the hubby and I want to steal from his feeder. Silly bird. Anyhoo, I've followed my normal routine, but for some reason I'm feeling uninspired. Bear with me, dear friends.

This recipe is yummy times 10. And easy too! I had some leftover naan that I used, saving lots of time making dough. I also used rotisserie chicken, another major timesaver. Really, you are only going to spend time roasting the garlic (all hands off time) and making the sauce, which takes all of 10 minutes. I completed the sauce in the time it took to preheat the oven. 

And that sauce!! I'm a sucker for roasted garlic, the taste and smell are just out of this world. The roasted garlic lends such savory and velvety richness to the sauce, I found myself licking it right off the stirring spoon. I guess my manners are a little lacking :)

Roasting garlic is way easier than you may think. I simply slice the top of the bulb off, wrap it in aluminum foil, and roast it in the oven for 45 minutes. Done! I love the way the house smells after roasting garlic. After the garlic is roasted, you simply add it to the sauce as you are making it. The sauce is basically a slurry, with garlic and parmesan cheese thrown in. It's delish, so don't skip this step. Trust me!

All right. I'm going to take my writer's block, and whip it into shape on the open road. If a long run doesn't get the creative juices flowing, I don't know what will!

Plus, the hubby bought new running shoes so he's very gung-ho about running right now. I'm trying to take advantage of a phase I'm sure won't last long :)

Happy Thursday friends, it's almost the weekend!

Ingredients (serves 2):

White Sauce-

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 bulb roasted garlic

2 tbsp flour

1 cup almond milk

pepper, to taste

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Flatbread-

2- Stonefire Whole Grain Naan breads

3/4- 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded

2 cup spinach, roughly chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 cup fresh mozzarella, chopped

fresh herbs, chopped (I used parsley and basil)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, if using (I baked mine on a pizza stone).

2. Make the white sauce- in a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Squeeze all garlic from the roasted bulb into the skillet. Sauté for 1 minute. Add flour, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, to cook out the raw flour taste. Begin adding milk in slow additions, whisking constantly with each addition. Add more milk, if sauce is too thick. Remove from heat, stir in pepper and cheese. 

3. Spread sauce over naan. Top each bread with spinach, red pepper, and mozzarella. Bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until mozzarella has begun to melt and brown. Remove from oven, and top with fresh herbs. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Eat Cake For Dinner.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Pepperoni and Green Olive Pizza

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

Pizza Margherita

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesdays

Grilled Heirloom Tomato Caprese Sandwiches

There is something to be said for a simple tomato and cheese sandwich. This bad boy uses farmer's market fresh heirloom tomatoes and melty, fresh mozzarella cheese. Add in some fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and you've got yourself an extremely tasty sandwich!

Sometimes I set out at dinner time having no clue what I'm making. This sandwich happened at one of those times. Since I've started frequenting the farmer's market, I find myself staring down a variety of produce in the fridge. What am I going to make with what I have? When my eyes skipped over these maters' and the ball of fresh mozzarella sitting next to it, an idea began to form. An added bonus? I have more basil than I know what to do with. And what goes best with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil? The answer to that question is obvious- balsamic vinegar. I decided to grill the tomatoes and bread, and make a stacked sandwich. Boom! Dinner decided.

Aren't these tomatoes gorgeous? Heirloom tomatoes are some of my favorites. So juicy and flavorful, and that texture! Summer is gooooood.

A couple tips for making these sandwiches- I sliced my tomatoes before I grilled them. This turned out ok because I cut the tomatoes so thick. I don't recommend an amateur does this. If the tomatoes are overcooked, they become mushy and slide through the grates on the grill. No good! I think grilling the tomatoes whole or cut into halves is the way to go though, and then slicing after the trip to the grill. Also, these tomatoes are so juicy that you want to eat your sandwiches immediately. Grilling the bread makes it nice and crispy, but given the opportunity (say, 15 minutes for photos) these sandwiches will become soggy. Also no good. 

A side note about that basil- as I was harvesting a gigantic bowl yesterday, I happened to start thinking about how much I've received from the herb garden. If you cook a lot, like me, you're probably buying fresh herbs often. Expensively. After yesterday's harvest, I've frozen a total of 8 bags of pesto this summer. Each bag holds an estimated $6 worth of fresh basil. That's $48 I've saved already! Not to mention all the times I've ran outside and grabbed a handful of basil leaves to add to a recipe. Even the smallest container of fresh basil at the grocery store is $3! Basil grows like crazy and is fairly low maintenance. In fact, all my herbs grow easily with little to no attention. An herb garden is a great way to dive into gardening without taking on the headache of growing vegetables. I highly recommend trying to grow your own herbs. 

The hubby and I actually have big plans for the weekend! We are heading up to Cincinnati for another weekend with his cousin. On Saturday, we're all headed to King's Island, which is a huge amusement park in these parts. Last time the hubby and I visited the park, we had a serious struggle over what to do. Due to my headaches, I don't really like to ride coasters. They rattle my brain around. The hubby, on the other hand, is my polar opposite in that department. Needless to say, our previous trip was spent mostly on kiddie rides and staying in the water park. This time, the hubby and his cousin can ride coasters to their hearts content, and the cousin's wife and I will stay quietly in the water park. This arrangement is much more up my alley, so I'm looking forward to a fun weekend. I've got some errands to run to prepare for the weekend, so I guess I better get going!

Happy Thursday friends!

Ingredients (makes 2 sandwiches):

2 ciabatta rolls, cut into sandwich halves

3 heirloom tomatoes, cut into halves

1 (8 oz) ball of fresh mozzarella, thickly sliced (you'll have leftovers)

Handful of large basil leaves

Balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat gas grill to high heat.

2. When grill is hot, turn top and bottom burners to low. Turn middle burner to medium.

3. Place tomatoes on grill, cut side down. Grill for 3 minutes. Turn tomatoes over and grill for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and set aside. Place ciabatta rolls on grill. Grill for 1 minute. Flip, and grill for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

4. Assemble sandwiches. Slice tomatoes. Place a tomato slice on a half of roll. Place a slice of mozzarella on top. Place a couple basil leaves on top of cheese. Place another slice of tomato on top of basil, and repeat process. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over last layer of basil. Sandwich other half of roll on top, and serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

Looking for other sandwich and/or bread recipes? Try these!

Buffalo Chicken Mozzarella Melts

Grilled Tomato Basil Bread

Mom's Sloppy Joes with Garlicky Potato Wedges

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Whole Wheat Tortellini with Corn and Tomato Relish

One of my favorite things about summer is corn. I love fresh corn! Fresh corn has that crisp/tender bite to it, and it's incredibly fragrant. Not to mention how sweet fresh corn is! It's a whole different ballgame than canned, or even frozen corn. It's a good thing too, because I've made this relish with canned and frozen corn, and wowsers. Don't make the mistake of taking on that experiment. Trust me, I've done it so don't do it. Fresh corn is the only way to go for this dish.

That being said, this dish is pretty darn good. I found these whole wheat tortellini at the grocery store, and I couldn't resist. I was perusing the produce and deli, you know, picking up lots of veggies for the hubby to juice. I was wandering through the deli, actually looking for something for me to eat for lunch, when I spotted this pasta. And it was on sale! Obviously, I couldn't resist. I think I planned on serving the corn relish as a side dish, but after I found the tortellini I knew the relish was going on the pasta. 

I par-boiled the tortellini until it was al-dente. Because I wanted some garlic flavor in the dish, I toasted some garlic in olive oil. As soon as the tortellini were almost tender, I threw them in the oil to toast them as well. It was, as they say, perfection. I ended up piling the tortellini on my plate and then dousing it with relish. A slight shake of salt and a crack of pepper later, and I was practically face-first in my plate. 

If you come across whole wheat tortellini in the grocery store, I highly recommend trying some. The taste is not impacted by the whole wheat, and the pasta has more chewiness in my opinion. Plus, you still get all that cheesy goodness in the center. Why not make it a little healthy? I know I'll be picking up more if it goes on sale again!

All right, I'm cutting the post short because- surprise, surprise- my to-do list is very long today. Actually, I guess it's not so much long, as it's just a few very time-consuming activities. Yesterday got away from me big-time, and now I'm left with a list I'm not sure I'll be able to complete in one day. Mowing the lawn, vacuuming the house, a doctor's appointment, and hopefully, a photo shoot for the 4th of July popsicles I made. Which are beautiful, I might add. I'm so proud of my popsicles! 

Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd utter :)

Happy Tuesday friends!

Ingredients (serves 3):

3 ears of corn, cooked and sliced off the cob

1 (8 oz) package of grape tomatoes, quartered

handful of basil, roughly chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1 (9 oz) package of whole wheat tortellini

2 tsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Prepare the relish- in a large bowl, combine corn, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. Toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add tortellini. Boil for 4-5 minutes, just until the pasta is almost tender. Remove from heat, and drain. Set aside.

3. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When warm, add garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until garlic has just begun to turn a little brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add tortellini, and sauté for 1-2 minutes, or until pasta is completely cooked. Remove from heat.

4. Divide tortellini among plates, and top with corn relish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

If you liked this recipe, you might enjoy these:

Tortellini Pepperoncini Salad

Parsley Pesto Pasta

Tomato, Spinach, and Tortellini Soup

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesdays, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Garden Update: End of June

Happy Sunday!

Let's jump right in shall we?

Now, I just commented on one of my friends blogs, telling them I had no confessions to make. I lied. I do. My confession? I have a secret, guilty pleasure in watching the reality TV show, "Wife Swap". Love that show! This week's episode met all my requirements for good reality TV- Pseudo-celebrities (Speidi), childish behavior by adults, and girls with blowouts and stilettos beings forced to sit in the rain. The swap this week was between reality TV royalty, Heidi and Spencer Pratt, and Olympic swimmer, Amanda Beard. To lay down the basics, Heidi and Spencer live in Southern California with a huge house, no kids, 4 tiny dogs, no jobs, house and garden staff, and huge spending habits. Amanda Beard, in comparison, lives a very normal life in Seattle, Washington, complete with kids, a normal house, yard work, fishing in the rain, and real jobs. I was really impressed with how down-to-Earth Amanda Beard was. She's just a normal, hardworking woman trying to raise her kids with good values. Her husband seems like a great partner, and together they make a great team. Heidi and Spencer, on the other hand, disgusted me. Neither of them have jobs, yet Heidi spends all day shopping and Spencer spends all day polishing his crystal collection. That, and they are constantly going out. For every meal. Spencer takes Amanda Beard out to eat, and orders half the menu. WTH? Their spending reminded me of the Kardashians- obscene when there are so many people suffering in this country.

What really interested me was when the couples turned the tables (a classic Wife Swap moment). Amanda made Spencer stay in and cook a meal, and all he could do was complain about bored he was, how crappy the food was, and how staying home was "absolute hell". I was appalled. I can't imagine what these people would think of my life, which I consider "heavenly". I've come to love staying home to make dinner and getting my hands dirty outside. It's therapeutic. I've found almost any activity outside brings me closer to nature, closer to where people were meant to be. It brings me peace and tranquility in a way that shopping, drinking, partying, and the "One-Up Game" never did. 

I've said my piece. Moving on to pictures of my garden! The first picture is a picture of the day we planted the herb garden, while the second picture is of the crazy thing today. It's out of control!

The mint is the most crazy. Mom was sooooo right. 

The mint escaping its box. I'm going to have go cut those vines, it's intruding on the thyme.

Basil is coming out of my ears! A huge bowl full, plus more to harvest. In addition, that's a little pile of extra herbs I'm drying out to add to the compost.

Vacuumed-sealed 2 bags of pesto this week.

I harvested the cilantro till it died. Now, I've planted new seedlings that are popping up extremely well. Baby cilantro :)

Planted some lavender. I think I'm going to start making my own organic bug spray.

Tomato plants. I decided to combine them into one picture :) I mean, the post is already pretty pic-heavy. 

My Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I don't think this plant will be saved. But, I'm learning a lot about tomato plants!

If only these would ripen before the plant dies. I don't think it's going to happen. Boooo.

More tiny tomato plants. I don't think these are going to take either. Sigh. 

Enough sad looking tomato plants. My jalapeño plant is doing well. It has blossoms and even tiny fruit forming!

The cucumber has attached its self to the trellis. Exactly what it's supposed to do.

And, it's blossoming!

Green bell pepper, taking off.

Zucchini blossoms.

Lettuce and chard.

And what garden post would be complete without my friends who join me in the garden? Here's a couple of gold finches that came calling.

A lady cardinal munching away.

Incoming hummer! Love this shot :)

The woodpeckers are one of the few birds who don't care if I'm outside with them. They'll eat anyway.

I heart woodpeckers. Look at that little face!

I hope everyone is having an excellent weekend, I know I am. I got tons of fresh veggies at the farmer's market yesterday, had breakfast and coffee with my girlfriend afterwards, a Netflix afternoon with the hubby, and then date night last night! Pizza and beer at the local brewery, and then ice cream from the local Dari Creme. The hubby and I are coming up on 5 years of marriage next month, and yet sometimes we still feel like young kids that just met. While I'd never say marriage is easy, it has been the best thing that ever happened to me. Events have transpired this week (I'm not going to get into them) that have made me eternally grateful to have that man firmly planted at my side. True love is a beautiful thing :)

Have a great day everyone!