Pasta Sauce - AKA What to do With All These Fuggen Tomatoes

We planted a container garden out by our pool, in lieu of building a fence and putting one in the ground in the backyard. It's been quite fruitful, but I've found myself each weekend wondering WTF to do with all these tomatoes before they spoil! So, I made pasta sauce. It doesn't just have to go on pasta. We used it on garlic bread pizza. It is super tasty with chicken and pasta, though. And not too complicated. I bet even an Italian would be satisfied.


Garden Tomato Pasta Sauce
makes 3-5 cups of sauce
Cooking time: 2-4 hours

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - However many you have! I just use all the ones in our bowl that are going to spoil if I don't use them... which is typically all the ones in the bowl. For the most recent batch, I used around 35 cherry tomatoes, 3 Parks Whoppers and 4-5 Lemon Boys

2 TBSP Olive Oil

3-4 TBSP minced garlic

1 onion, diced

1-2 TBSP Oregano

1-2 TBSP Sage

1 TBSP Thyme

1-2 TBSP Paprika

(Optional: 2 tsp crushed red pepper)

Salt and Pepper to taste

About 3-4 TBSP Fresh Basil, chopped - what you can find. Supplement with dried if it's not a lot.

1 TBSP white sugar

1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar



For all tomatoes except Cherry, cut, quarter and remove any bad spots and the stem of your tomatoes. Food process them until there are no chunks left, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Once heated, add in the garlic and onion and sauté until the onion starts to turn translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Lower heat to medium, and add in your spices (except fresh basil), stirring constantly, until they become fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Pour in processed tomatoes, fresh basil, sugar, and vinegar, and heat until simmering. Simmer on medium or medium-high until most of the juices have evaporated out. Let cool and transfer into container to freeze or refrigerate. Use refrigerated sauce within 2 weeks. Frozen sauce will last 6 months.




Tomatoey Chicken Pasta

12 oz pasta, cooked and set aside

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 TBSP Olive Oil, separated

1 TBSP minced garlic

1 TBSP Oregano

1 TBSP Sage

1 TBSP Thyme

3-5 cups Pasta Sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese


Put the pieces of chicken in a bowl, and toss with Olive Oil, garlic and spices.

Heat remaining oil in large skillet. When hot, add in chicken. Cook over medium-high until chicken is done, and most of the moisture has evaporated from the pan. Add in the sauce and heat until everything is hot. Pour sauce and chicken mixture over cooked pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Stir in some parmesan cheese, or portion on plates, and allow each person to add their own cheese.

Great with garlic bread or yeast rolls.





Enjoy!