Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce

This is a time-consuming but great way to use all those tomatoes from the garden!

First, you're going to need quite a few tomatoes. It takes A LOT of tomatoes to turn into very much sauce. I would estimate that you need about 5-7 tomatoes (depending on their size) per person you're going to serve.

Ingredients:

25 Fresh tomatoes
2 Fresh garlic cloves
Your favorite italian seasoning, to taste (I like Sam's Club's Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning)

Directions:

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Fill a second large pot with ice cubes and water. Wash tomatoes and then place as many as will fit into the boiling water. Wait for 45-60 seconds and then transfer them to the ice water. After about 20-30 seconds in the ice water remove the tomatoes and peel the skins off. The skins should come off VERY easily. Repeat until all tomatoes have been skinned.

Next, cut the tomatoes into quarters. Remove seeds, rough parts, and any bruises. Squeeze the excess water out of the tomatoes and place into a colander to drain. Once drained then dice all of the tomatoes.

Place diced tomatoes into a pot, cover, and start cooking them low and slow. They will break down and turn into a sauce after a few hours. Once it's looking more like a sauce add the garlic and seasoning. Keep cooking until at desired consistency! If the sauce is too watery then take the lid off and let some of the water evaporate.

Serves 4

* Adapted from http://www.pickyourown.org/canning_tomatosauce.htm

Parmesan Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

3-4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3 if large, 4 if medium)
1 Tsp. Paprika
1 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Black pepper
1 Egg, beaten
1 T Butter (I use salted)
1 C All-Purpose flour
2 T Olive Oil
1/2 C Finely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Trim any fat off chicken breasts and cut into 3-4 strips each. Place wax paper under and over the chicken and pound to tenderize. Be careful not to go overboard or the meat will tear.

In a pie pan combine paprika, salt, pepper, flour, and Parmesan. Place the egg in a shallow bowl. Dip a chicken strip in the egg and coat on both sides. Let the egg run off a little until it stops dripping. Place the chicken into the flour mixture and coat thoroughly. Gently shake off excess coating and set aside. Do this to each chicken strip.

In a medium frying pan melt butter. Once butter is melted add the olive oil. Heat to medium or medium-high and once the oil is hot carefully place as many chicken strips as you can comfortably fit in the pan without touching. Keep an eye on the heat. You want it to fry hot and fast but not so hot it will burn. Turn chicken over when it's a nice golden brown on the first side.

When those are done you could place the first batch in a baking dish in the oven at 175 or 200 degrees to keep warm while you finish the others. Repeat with all the chicken strips.

If you're concerned that the chicken might not be done, cut into the biggest piece at its thickest point and make sure the juices are coming out clear. Enjoy!

Serves 4-5 depending on serving size and breast size.

* My own recipe