How To Take Your Homegrown Tomatoes To The Next Level

I had always thought it would be really difficult to make your own spaghetti sauce. I don’t know why – now that I’ve tried it, I know it’s not even close to rocket science, haha! I guess I just thought it would be so much work, trying to peel and chop all those tomatoes in order to get a smooth consistency for the sauce. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

Sally, my next door neighbor is very much a DIY person and when she mentioned she had just whipped up a batch of spaghetti sauce, I had to ask her for the recipe. She told me about blanching the tomatoes (how is it possible I had never heard of it before?) and how it makes the whole thing super easy.

All you need to do is boil some water in a large stock pot and then put the tomatoes in the boiling water for a minute or two. Then remove them from the stock pot and put them into ice cold water; this will make the skin crack and peel almost on its own.

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Quick Tip: Add any of your favorite herbs.

I think I have already mentioned that my boyfriend has a lot of brothers. Here’s a story about another one of them. Levi is two years older than my boyfriend and four years older than the youngest, but he’s still a bit childish. Don’t get me wrong. Levi is kind and he grew up to be a gentleman, but he still hasn’t found his calling. He works different jobs because he doesn’t know what he wants in life. He also hasn’t had a steady girlfriend in years because he is not sure if he can commit to anyone and he doesn’t want to cause anyone pain because of his indecisiveness. He visits us sometimes and stays over so he has become close to me. He’s like the older brother that I never had since my real brother is two years younger than me. I am always worried about him and hopes that one day, he will find what he is looking for.

I remembered that one time when he stayed over and cooked for us. He decided that it would be shepherd’s pie for dinner. However, we didn’t have potatoes available at the moment so he had to make do with the sweet potatoes that were on the vegetables rack. His accidental sweet potato shepherd’s pie tasted great. What a sweet accident, isn’t it? I hope such a “sweet accident of fate” would happen to him too. And soon.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker.

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Quick Tip: Serve with asparagus as side dish.

It’s 10 pm. You’re starving, and you want a snack that hits the spot. Aha! You’ve got it: PIZZA. You’re excitement slowly fades when you realize the local pizza place is closed, and you don’t want to wait until 2 in the morning for dough to rise. What to do?

You make this super easy pizza recipe of course! Instead of making dough, this pizza crust is made from bread that you have in your pantry. And guess what? It all comes together in just under 30 minutes. By 10:30, you’ll have a slice of piping hot pizza in your hands and your favorite Netflix series on the boob tube.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Saveur.

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Quick Tip: Feel free to add any topping that you like to this pizza. Personalize it!

What’s better than enjoying dinner with your family on a Sunday afternoon? Not much, but when you add this fabulous slow cooker Sunday gravy to the mix, you and your family will never haver a boring Sunday lunch again. This recipe combines all the staple Italian ingredients that go into making a terrific sauce we just know you’ll love.

Basil, oregano, and tomatoes cradle fresh Italian sausage with their herby goodness as the meat cooks on low in the Crock Pot for several hours. Take a sniff, can you smell this fabulous meal cooking? My family loves eating Sunday sauce over penne pasta and garlic bread for dipping. How will you eat yours?

Recipe courtesy of Food Network.

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This Sausage & Penne Pasta recipe brings the flavor with little hassle and only modest time investment. Just 3 steps and about 50 minutes yields a hearty meal. It’s great for any family meal but would also do nicely at potlucks.

One has to admire the versatility of pasta and sausage. For items that are so easy to use, they certainly do mix well with plenty of things. And with a little cheese to bind everything together, they do combine well with each other, particularly in casseroles.

Recipe and photo courtesy of AllRecipes.com

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This curious-looking but delicious-tasting casserole takes only 45 minutes of baking time and about half an hour of prep. And it packs a lot of good flavor in one easy dish without breaking the bank, making it a good family-friendly meal. This casserole may look about like someone slapped a bunch of things against a pile of salty rocks, but trust me: it tastes amazing. All of that cheese really brings everything together nicely!

I went with cheddar, for a bit more of an intense cheese flavor, but I am sure that you could substitute a milder cheese if you prefer. There aren’t any super-fancy ingredients necessary, and since you are browning the ground beef before putting it into the casserole, you just use the most inexpensive grade of it that you can find and drain off the excess fat. You’ll be just fine serving this casserole by itself, though if you like, it also goes nicely with corn, green beans, or most any other simple greens.

Recipe and photo courtesy of 5-Dollar Dinners

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Quick tip: Add a bit of your favorite hot sauce for a spicier flavor!

I can see why this recipe was award-winning!  It’s really hard to believe that something as gourmet-tasting as this Mediterranean Seafood can be put together in only half an hour and be so healthy!

Not very many dishes go straight to my dash of Best Recipes, but this one did! Particularly when fall starts knocking on my door, I start thinking about hearty stews. And seafood is very much in my blood still, even if I am a few hundred miles away from the Gulf waters now.  Needless to say, I was really excited to come upon this little gem.  I couldn’t believe that something this tasty was only about 220 calories for a full serving, not to mention rich with all of those healthy omega-3 fatty acids that I keep hearing such good things about.

What surprised me the most was how much my whole family enjoyed this dish! I have two very picky eaters at home, and my husband is not that fond of seafood, either. But all three of them gobbled this up faster than I could say “Bon Appetit!”

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home.

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Quick tip: Serve with fresh, homemade bread.