Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce (with Meatballs and Zoodles)

I have a lot of big ripe tomatoes in my garden so I decided to make this veggie-rich homemade pasta sauce.  I used some of it to serve with zoodles and meatballs and froze the remainder for another night.  The sauce was much thicker until I put the zucchini noodles in the pot and then they released a lot of water into the sauce and thinned it out.  I should have cooked the zucchini separately.  It was still really delicious.  

Homemade Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

6 beefsteak tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion

1 green pepper, seeded and minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup beef or chicken stock

1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary 

1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano 

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Directions:

Cut the tomatoes in half and place cut-side down on a lined baking sheet.   Roast at 450º for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and use a tongs to peel off tomato skins.

While the tomatoes are roasting, heat olive oil in a large stock pot and cook the onions and peppers until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir for a minute.    Pour in the wine, stock, and herbs, and stir well.  Cook over medium heat until the liquid has reduced by half.

Add the roasted tomatoes to the pot, stirring and mashing up any really big chunks.  Stir in the tomato paste.   Simmer over low heat for 2 hours.  Use a handheld immersion blender to blend the sauce for a few seconds to get a less chunky sauce (this worked out wonderfully for me).

Serve with pasta or zoodles.

Zucchini Bread

My zucchini plant is having a record year and giving me a fresh zucchini almost daily.   I made two loaves of zucchini bread, one regular and one with chocolate chips.  Delicious.

Zucchini Bread

Makes 2 loaves 

Ingredients:

2&1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Grease and flour two 8x4" loaf pans.  Preheat oven to 325ºF.

In a large bowl, beat sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Sift in the dry ingredients and beat well.  Stir in the zucchini and nuts or chocolate if desired.  Pour batter into prepared pans.  Bake at 325º for 45-60 minutes until tester comes out clean.  Let cool for 20 minutes then remove bread from pan and let cool completely.

Zucchini Skillet Meal

This was a great fast and easy one-pot meal that used up a bunch of my garden vegetables (zucchini, tomatoes, green pepper).  The recipe made more than expected, so we had leftovers for a couple nights.  If I made it again, I'd spice it up a little more with more chili powder or cayenne or something.  Jeremy put Tabasco sauce on his serving. 

Zucchini Skillet Meal

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey or ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, seeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1-2 zucchini, diced (I used 1 large zucchini)

2-3 large tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 cup uncooked instant rice

1/4 cup water 

shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend)

Directions:

Cook ground turkey in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.  Add in the onion and peppers and cook for a few minutes to soften the veggies.  

Stir in the seasonings, zucchini, tomatoes, rice, and water, and bring to a boil (the zucchini will release more moisture).  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 minutes.  Sprinkle shredded cheese over everything and let melt a bit.