Wednesday, September 30, 2009

**My Excuse**/ FRESH MARINARA SAUCE




I apologize I haven't made a daily post for the last week. It's been absolutely crazy around here! We knew that it was going to freeze yesterday and I was panicking that our tomatoes were all going to freeze so we went out in the garden and pulled each and every single tomato plant and pulled every tomato off them. Wow! Talk about a family activity! It took all four of us a couple hours, but it sure felt good when we were thru. So, it was frozen pizza for dinner! And then knowing that I was going to be gone for yesterday and today, Mike helped me get some canning done Monday night before I left. It was great! He helped me so much and I told him that if I die tomorrow, he is expected to keep up my traditions! Ha ha! We did 34 quarts of pickles and hot veggies in 2 hrs. Record time! And we were able to spend some very awesome time together in my element! I Love him!


Anyhow, I left yesterday and went to the Taste of Home Cooking School in Lehi, Utah with my Mom and it was AMAZING! I got some great new recipes! And it's always nice to just have a break! We had front row VIP seats and it was a blast! Mom and I went to the Thanksgiving gardens, since our VIP pass included a ticket thru the gardens! OH MY! Can I tell you how beautiful that place is! An absolute paradise! We spent two hours driving a golf cart thru the gardens and we could have spent so much more time there but we didn't have it! Then we stayed there, went to IKEA today on our way home, then made our way home. It was a great time and too short-lived! Anyway, I have to tell you that I have enjoyed not cooking for a couple of days but I am so anxious to get back in the kitchen now that I've had my break! :-)


So, keep looking for new posts and PLEASE DON'T HESITATE to leave comments! I like knowing that people are actually reading it! :-)


So here is a recipe I got from the cooking school! I have not been able to try it yet, but I will tomorrow, since I have just a FEW tomatoes that I need to use up :-). It looked amazing and smelled soooo good!


FRESH MARINARA SAUCE:


3 large carrots, finely chopped

2 large onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup olive oil

15 medium tomatoes (about 6 pounds), peeled and chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil

3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper


In a Dutch oven, saute the carrots, onions and garlic in oil until tender. Add tomatoes and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until thickened and reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Store sauce in airtight containers.

Yields: 7 servings

I made this recipe then put in 2 sterilized quart jars while still boiling hot. I put the lid and ring on and tipped it upside down to seal. Should work great in the food storage!



Happy Cooking


**Teauna**

3 comments:

  1. Nice blog content !!! If you have free time, don't forget to visit my blog.

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  2. My mom didn't teach me this stuff, but I am really trying to learn. So when you bottle something like marinara sauce, how do you know when you can just heat it so that the lid pops or when you have to pressure cook? I did chicken and stew at the cannery this year, and bottled garden soup and apple pie filling with a friend (pressured soup, water bathed apples). But since I really don't know anything about it, I just did as I was told. I so enjoyed doing it and love the food storage, but I am a little confused as to when you can just let the lid pop, when you can water bath, and when you have to pressure. ? ? ? You seem to have all the answers, so can you clear it up? Thanks-this blog is great!

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  3. So, this is kindof the rule I use.... When I am bottleing tomatoes (whole tomatoes, fresh salsa) I always use the water bath for 15-25 minutes for pints and 40 mins for quarts. It's just the safer way. When you are bottleing corn, beans, potatoes, etc. you can use a pressure cooker because you put the vegetables in the bottles while raw and the pressure cooker is the way of cooking them. When I cook something like apple pie filling, this recipe, peach butter, pickles, hot veggies,jams, syrups,etc...where it's been cooking for a long period of time and the bottles are piping hot out of my dishwasher I just make sure the lids have boiled so they will get a good seal on them then I just clean the rims, put the lid and ring on and I tip them upside down to seal. This is just the way I have learned. I think everyone has their own rules. If you have any doubt on whether you should use a water bath or not, I don't think it hurts to use the water bath for a minimum of 15 minutes. I hope this helps! Thanks!

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