Make-Ahead Meals out of an Abundance of Blessings!

This summer, we planted tomatoes in our "garden". We planted our garden at the beginning of May . . . it was middle of August before anything started to turn red :) We began to think we planted the wrong kinds of tomatoes! But alas, red tomatoes now abound and we have a feast! So I decided, now that the summer is coming to a close along with all our hopes of living off tomato sandwiches throughout the season, I would take all our new tomatoes, make homemade tomato/spaghetti/pizza sauce (you like how I planned for 3 meals here?!), and freeze it to eat during the remainder of the year! The only question now is, do I have enough room in my freezer for all the new sauce? We shall see . . .

Here is the process (in case anyone else is interested too):

Step 1 - Start with an abundance of tomatoes (any kind will do).

Step 2 - Cut off the tops and de-seed all tomatoes (this can get kinda messy so I recommend doing it over the sink).

Step 3 - Blanch tomatoes by putting them in boiling water (one "layer" at a time) for approx. 30 sec - 1 min. This will help with removing the skins.

Step 4 - Once you see the skins loosening on the tomatoes, take them out of the water carefully and put them directly into a bowl of ice. This will cool the tomatoes and help the skins to literally fall right off. Peel the skins off each tomato and put tomato "flesh" back into bowl. Throw away leftover skins.

Step 5 - Decide what vegetables/herbs you will put into your sauce and dice them up. I have fresh garlic, fresh parsley, green bell pepper, fresh basil (also from our garden), and white onion.

Step 6 - Cover the bottom of your pot with EVOO. After the oil is good and hot, throw in your vegetables (start with onion, garlic, and peppers first). Saute until almost completely transparent. Add salt and pepper.

Step 7 - Drain excess liquid from bowl of tomatoes and add to pot of sauteed vegetables.
Step 8 - With an immersion blender (I HIGHLY recommend one of these!), blend together the contents of the pot until you reach your desired consistency. Add seasonings of choice. I added salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, italian seasonings, sugar, and a splash of white cooking wine.

Step 9 - Lower temperature and let simmer for 30 minutes. If sauce has not thickened to your desire, you can add 1 Tbl. flour to the sauce. Be sure to mix the flour with a little bit of water before adding into the sauce. Blend well and allow to simmer for a little while longer.

Step 10 - Cool completely, pour into gallon-sized Ziplock bags (or tupperware), and store in freezer. When ready to make a meal with your sauce, simply pull it out of the freezer and thaw in the fridge overnight the night before.

Bon Appetite!