Garden Fresh Pasta Sauce

Our garden is exploding with tomatoes right now! It's so great! We love tomatoes and so our garden is mostly tomatoes along with green peppers and parsley.  We had tons of tomatoes in our garden last year and at one point we just had so many there was no way to get around to eating it all so we decided to make homemade pasta sauce!  I've made it 3 times since last year and we have perfected our recipe.  And let me tell you!  This is the best pasta sauce I've ever had!  It's light and refreshing and has so much flavor. So much better than any jarred pasta sauce.

There are a few steps to making it. Don't be intimidated by it. It's fairly simple.

 To peel the tomatoes easily:
1. Cut an X on the bottom of the tomatoes.
2. Boil for 30 seconds.
3. Place in ice water for 20 seconds.
4. Easily peel the tomato!

Cut the tomatoes in half and remove as many seeds as possible. Then chop the tomatoes. In a skillet warm the olive oil then add the onion and green pepper, cook until soft then add the garlic.  Next add the tomatoes and seasoning and simmer for at least an hour. Then enjoy the best pasta sauce!

Garden Fresh Pasta Sauce
Love to be in the Kitchen Original Recipe
Ingredients:
4 lbs. tomatoes (about 12 medium sized tomatoes)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
1 green pepper
4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
optional: 1, 6 oz. can tomato paste

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Cut an X on the bottom of all the tomatoes. Prepare a bowl of ice water.  Blanche tomatoes, a few at a time, X side down for 30 seconds. Remove and place in ice water for 20 seconds. Remove and set aside. Repeat with remaining tomatoes.  Peel the tomatoes. It should be really easy to do.

Cut the tomatoes in half or quarters and remove as many seeds as possible. This next step is optional but I like to do it to help the pasta sauce be thicker. Place the tomatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible. Roughly chop up the tomatoes and set aside.

Warm up the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat.  Finely chop up the onion and green pepper. Add to the pan and cook for 8 minutes. Next, mince the garlic and add to the pan and cook for 1 minute.

Add all the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. Using a potato masher or a fork press down on the tomatoes occasionally to help them break down. If you want thicker sauce add the tomato paste. Serve over your favorite type of pasta.

*Variations: You can add celery or carrot along with the onion and green pepper.  Also, you can add cooked Italian sausage or ground beef to the pasta sauce.