Spaghetti Sauce

This is for anyone of you out there that doesn't know what to do with all those tomatoes growing out in your garden. This is homemade spaghetti sauce. I can't take credit for the recipe, I got it from my nephew's wife Brittany and it is delicious. I made it last year and made two batches of it this year. I have changed a couple of things. We plan to eat it on pasta but also as soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and really if you just had some garlic bread it would be great to dip it in. It is yummy and has lots of veggies in it so it is good for you and also your kids.

1 1/2 gallons of blended tomatoes
3 large onion, finely chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped or grated
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3 grated carrots
3 cans of tomato paste
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, if I don't have it I just add some dried.
1 TB. dried oregano
5 cloves garlic
4 beef bouillon cube, or equivalent( like "Better than Bouillon")
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 - 1 red pepper finely diced (or any color you want)
1/3 cup olive oil

Blend/ chop all the ingredients and add to a large stockpot, with a thick bottom. I actually used my two crock pots and they were full but then I didn't have to stir it.

Simmer about 3 hours on medium heat stirring regularly. You want a very gentle simmer. When it starts to thicken, you will know it is ready. In my crock pot I just let it cook on high all day and only had to stir it occasionally.

When it is done allow it to cool off. I then used my hand blender and blended it one more time to make it really smooth with no chunks. I don't like chunks and this hides everything from your kids. Then scoop it into your zip lock bags. I lay all the bags on my jelly roll pan and put them in the freezer. When they are frozen you can stack them flat and they don't take up much space.

Enjoy and change anything you like. I love this recipe Brittany!

Homemade Marshmallows

These aren't the best pictures but I wanted you to see how to make the molds for the egg shaped marshmallows. The ones on the right I have frosted with melted chocolate chips so there isn't too much chocolate on them. The ones on the left I flavored with cherry and the chocolate ones are just vanilla. They were super easy to make and taste yummy!

Prepare molds for marshmallow eggs: Fill 3 or more 9x13 pans with about 3 cups of flour each (smooth and level). Make mold depressions in the flour with plastic eggs that you have stashed somewhere. Leave a depression as deep and smooth as possible.
Marshmallow filling: In a mixing bowl, dissolve 2 T of Knox unflavored gelatin in 6 T. cold water. I just let this sit while I was doing the molds and making the syrup. In a saucepan mix 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup water. Stir and dissolve the mixture over heat while bringing to a boil. Remove from heat once it barely starts to boil and pour over the softened gelatin. With a wire whisk stir until dissolved and mixed. Whip the mixture with an electric mixer (I used my kitchen aid) for about 5 minutes. Just before completely whipped add a dash of salt and your flavoring. Spoon mixture into molds until they are completely full. Work fast because this mixture sets up fast (about 10-15 minutes).
When it is set gently turn the eggs over so they are completely coated with flour. Then you can just eat them or dip them in chocolate.

Berry Compote

I couldn’t post the waffles without a post about Trina’s berry compote. We LOVE it around here, Lilly and I are both guilty of eating it by the spoonful when no one is looking!

Berry Compote

2 c. frozen or fresh berries (I use the mixed berry mix from Costco or Sam’s Club)
1/4 c. Water
1/4 c. Sugar
1 T. Cornstarch
Dash of Salt
1 T. Lemon Juice

Combine all ingredients. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened. Stir in lemon juice if you are using blueberries.