Roasted tomato sauce with garlic and olive oil

I've been trying to be creative with my tomatoes this year. I have never made tomato sauce before and saw a friend of mine post a recipe with roasted tomatoes. I had a bunch of tomatoes that I wanted to make sauce out of and thought I would try doing a tomato sauce using roasted tomatoes. I came up with this wonderful and easy recipe. It is so easy, you don't even have to measure anything.

Roma tomatoes sliced in half with the seeds removed but the core left intact.
Olive oil
garlic cloves, minced/chopped (I use minced that I buy in a huge jar at Costco)

Heat your oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place your halved tomatoes on it. Drizzle olive oil on top of them and place some garlic inside. Place in the oven and cook for about 2 hours.

After about 2 hours pull them out of the oven and let them cool. Then place all of them, (try not to let the oil spill out of the tomato) into a blender and puree. Freeze it, or use it in a recipe that calls for tomato sauce.

I used a 1/2 cup of it in a wonderful Italian recipe that I found for dinner tonight. I will post that one later. But you won't be disappointed!

Tomato and Basil Pasta with Chicken

This is great with fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden.

1 (8 oz) package spaghetti (or your choice noodles)
1 TB olive oil
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic chopped (or 1 tsp mined garlic)
2 1/2 c chopped tomatoes
2 c boneless chicken breast, cooked and chopped
1/4 c chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 c parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot boil water and add noodles cooking for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil and saute onion and garlic. Stir in all remaining ingredients except cheese. Simmer about 5 minutes until tomatoes are soft.
3. Take off heat and add cheese.
4. Serve over noodles.

Amazing Guacamole

I have to admit, that I have never really had Guacamole before. I've had a little bit on fajitas, but not enough to really know what guacamole tasted like. I whipped some up from scratch the other day when we had fajitas. It was so good. And the next day it was even better on tortilla chips. I LOVE this! It has been good to have as a snack. YUM!

3 avocados, mashed
2 TB lime juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 c diced onion
2-3 tsp dried cilantro (or 3 TB fresh)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 tsp mined garlic

In a medium sized bowl, mash the first three ingredients. Then add the rest. Refrigerate for at least one hour for best flavor.

Purely Decadent-Review

I have found an ice cream that is just heaven to me. The brand is called Purely Decadent. They have many flavors, all dairy free, gluten free, organic and vegan. They also come with about 5 grams of fiber per half cup. That is a super bonus if you ask me.

So far I have tried two flavors, Purely Vanilla and Turtle Trails. I have truly enjoyed them both. I really liked the Purely Vanilla with Marie Callendars Razzleberry pie. The Turtle Trails which has swirls of carmel and chocolate covered prailine pecans is so addicting I could eat the entire pint in one sitting. (But I know that would probably make me sick, so I have resisted.) The carmel is SO good!

They have many more flavors all of which I am tempted to try. I am very curious about the Pomegranate Chip which is made with pomegranate and chocolate chips. It is very intriguing to me. Other flavors that look appealing are Cookie Avalanche, Blueberry Cheesecake, and Snickerdoodle.

Honey Baked Chicken

Honey Baked Chicken

This is so easy and oh so good. Even my kids like it. I love this because you don't really need to measure the ingredients and it still tastes good.

1 lb chicken (I use about 2 breasts)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 TB honey
4 TB melted butter/margarine

Mix the garlic powder, pepper, and salt together and rub on chicken. In a bowl mix the egg, honey, and butter together and brush onto chicken. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

Sweet Pork

Sweet Pork

1-2 lbs pork roast
1 c brown sugar
2 c salsa

Mix the salsa and brown sugar together. Put pork in a crock pot, add sugar/salsa and cook on low for about 8 hours. Pull the pork apart mix it around and let sit another 30 minutes or so to help the meat absorb some more of the juice. This makes a lot but it is really good.

Throw it on a tortilla with some burrito filling stuff. I like beans and rice. But I'm sure it is even better with some sour cream and cheese.

My kids favorite pizza

My kids love, love "Dipping Pizza" as they call it. They eat it so well and they ask for it all the time.

Pizza Crust

1 pkg yeast ( 2 1/4 tsp.)

1/4 c warm water

Let sit together in a bowl until yeast has dissolved. 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl:


2 1/2 c flour (I use half white and half whole wheat)
1 tsp salt
2 TB olive oil
2 TB honey
3/4 c cold water
yeast/water mixture

Mix together and knead until gluten is well developed and the bread looks smooth on the outside. This takes about 10 minutes.


Place in an oiled bowl until doubled in size.


Divide the dough into two pieces. Roll them into 2 long rectangular pieces. Place your cheese and toppings down the middle of the pizza. Then make slices on either side of the dough. Once you have done that, then you will bring a slice from each side and tie the dough together. (See the picture and you will understand.)






Place on a cookie sheet and cook at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Cut into slices.

For those on a dairy-free diet like me, I don't put cheese on part of the pizza for me, and I still think it tastes okay.

Then while the pizza is cooking, start your pizza sauce for dipping. Unfortunately, I just "wing-it" with the spices, so I don't really have a recipe for it.
2 small cans of tomato sauce


Garlic powder
Onion powder
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Pepper

I use twice as much garlic and oregano compared to everything else.


Serve the pizza with the sauce and with other finger foods like carrots and grapes. Yum!