Spaghetti Sauce

Source: My momma

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
1 large onion, diced
3 15 oz cans Italian style stewed tomatoes
1 heaping Tablespoon flour
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1-2 teaspoons basil
1-2 teaspoons oregano
1-2 teaspoons chili powder (I never measure the spices - I just kind of eyeball and shake)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, Brown the ground beef and onion.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add one can tomatoes, undrained.  Stir flour in corner until pasty (this is to avoid lumps).  Blend remaining two cans tomatoes until smooth.  Add blended tomato "juice" and tomato sauce to pot.  Season with basil, oregano and chili powder.  Simmer for a while.  Serve over hot spaghetti noodles, with plenty of cheese on top.

Notes:
Oh yum!  This is one of my favorite homey comfort foods ever.  It was my favorite growing up (according to my Dr. Suess's Book About Me entry (seen below)) and I am thrilled to find out that I can make it taste like my mom's, even when I don't use her home-bottled tomatoes and tomato juice.  We always ate it with green beans growing up (which was not my fave, also seen below), but the garlic bread (I should definitely post that recipe, huh?) certainly made up for those.  This freezes great, too.  If you have so many leftovers you don't know what to do.

Speedy and Easy Restaurant-Style Salsa

Source: I was inspired by this one and this one and then sort of just went for it, taking what I liked from each and using what I had on hand

Ingredients:
1 can petite diced tomatoes with chiles (when I run out of the case that I bought of these, then I'll probably just use 2 cans of the stewed tomatoes and add a jalapeno to the blender)
1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 handful cilantro (~1/2 cup), rough chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 clove garlic, rough chopped
1/4 onion (yellow or red), chopped into quarters
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (you could also try the Chipotle Tabasco mentioned in the Our Best Bites recipe above, but this is what I had in my cupboard, so that's what I used; I really like the slight smokey flavor it adds to the salsa, but you could probably leave it out, too, if desired)

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender (it doesn't have to be fancy - our cheap Hamilton Beach one works fabulously). Pulse until the ingredients are chopped but not pureed and salsa is desired consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste. For best flavor, refrigerate at least 2-3 hours before serving.  (I think it just gets better and better as it ages, so when I was making a double batch for a bridal shower for my sister, I blended everything a week before the party so all the flavors could meld and blend and be the best ever.)  Makes 1 quart salsa.  Refrigerate for up to a month or more (if it lasts that long!).

Notes:
One day I was making tacos for dinner but I had no more salsa left.  We live less than a mile from a grocery store, but I decided instead of driving there to buy some, I'd give this recipe I had been saving and thinking about a whirl (quite literally - ha).  I haven't used store-bought salsa ever since and I've made at least four batches of this good stuff for us and for the above-mentioned bridal shower.  It's delicious.  Everyone who tastes it says so.  And it has turned out to be a really great use for that case of too-spicy-for-anything-I've-tried-cooking-with-them diced tomatoes with chiles that I bought at a caselot sale over a year ago and have just been giving away at food drives because my family (and I) won't eat them.  They lend the perfect amount of spice in salsa form (because I expect salsa to be at least a little spicy) and I'm quite pleased with this discovery.

Tomato Basil Soup

Source: here, via Pinterest

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 - 14 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 - 14 oz. can whole tomatoes
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used 1% milk - loved it)
3 tablespoons of fresh basil, julienned (I didn't have any fresh, so I used 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried basil)
parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute - being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the crushed tomatoes.  Add the whole tomatoes one at a time, squeezing them into the pan to break them up.  Add the juice from the whole tomatoes, as well.  Add chicken stock, salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook the soup on medium at a simmer for 10 minutes.

To finish, reduce the heat to low and stir in heavy cream and basil.  Serve topped with parmesan cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich (which is exactly what we did - both!).

Notes:
Every Thursday in the winter I like to make soup.  Of course I have my favorites, but sometimes I like to find a new recipe (I have so many to choose from on Pinterest) to test out.  I'm so glad I tried this one!  I loved it!  It's a thick-ish consistency due to the crushed tomatoes and there's a bit of chew from the whole tomato chunks in there.  Very hearty for a tomato soup.  And lots of flavor!  The perfect complement to a good grilled cheese.  I will be making this one again.

Sliced Tomato "Salad"

Based on this source

Ingredients:
3-4 large tomatoes, sliced
salt
pepper
parmesan cheese
dressing:
     2 tbsp olive oil
     2 tbsp white wine vinegar (or red wine, or apple cider)
     1 tbsp thinly sliced green onion or fresh chives
     2 tsp snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
     1 tsp sugar
     1/2 tsp dijon-style mustard (I used honey mustard, because it's what we keep on hand)
     1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a small container - shake well.

2. Arrange tomato slices on platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with dressing, and top with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Notes: We love fresh tomatoes from our garden so much that we often eat plain slices of them as a side dish for dinner or lunch. Sometimes we wanted to dress them up a little though, so we served them this way. Still light and simple, but dimensional.

Corn and Tomato Pasta Salad

Source (via Pinterest)

Ingredients: (See the notes for my numerous alterations)
1 1/2 cups bow-tie pasta
2 fresh ears of corn or 1 cup whole kernel frozen corn
1 cup shredded, cooked chicken
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
2-3 tablespoons pesto
1 tablespoon chicken broth or water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Romaine leaves
1 tablespoons finely shredded Parmesan cheese
Snipped fresh basil

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, rinse in cold water, and drain again. Meanwhile, if using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cobs. Cook corn, covered, in boiling water for 10 minutes or until corn is tender; drain. (If using frozen corn, cook according to package directions; drain.) Let cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, combine pasta, corn, chicken, and tomato. In a screw-top jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, pesto, chicken brother or water, salt, and pepper. Cover and shake well. Pour over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. To serve, line a serving platter with romaine leaves. Arrange salad on romaine leaves. Sprinkle cheese and basil over top.

Notes: Yum!!! Although I need to clarify that what I tasted was probably very different than what the original recipe will create because I tweaked so many things: eliminated the chicken, used whole grain pasta, increased the tomato and corn, substituted balsamic vinegar (which altered the flavor a LOT, I am sure), increased the cheese and stirred it in, omitted the basil garnish, and finely chopped the romaine and stirred it in. I would guess that my version is a lot more sultry, or more "evening" than "picnic."

Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup

Source: adapted from 365 Days of Slow Cooking (which was recommended to me by my aunt Nikie)

Ingredients:
2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice (I used one can Hunt's Green Pepper, Celery and Onion and one can Hunt's Spicy Red Pepper (which gave the soup quite the nice little kick))
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano
1 Tablespoon dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups (or ~2 cans) chicken broth
½ bay leaf
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups milk, warmed
¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:
Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.  Add half the soup to a blender and blend for a few seconds to make the soup a creamy consistency.  Add blended soup back to the remaining soup and allow it to heat through again.  (You could also blend the whole pot if you prefer a more uniform consistency.)

About 30 minutes before serving add the Parmesan cheese, warmed milk, and pepper.  Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don't be afraid to always season to taste at the end). Cover and cook on low for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

Makes about 2 quarts.

Notes:
Nikie and family raved about this soup recipe, so I knew I had to try it.  As I was reading the recipe, however, I became a little wary of the roux.  Notice I don't mention anything about a roux in the recipe above?  That's because I left it out.  Yep, I did.  I adapted a recipe as I was making it - Gregg is so proud!  (I did ask my mom her thoughts, since she had made it recently, so it wasn't completely from my head.)  If you're interested, check out the original recipe.  But I didn't even miss it (and neither will my hips, I'm sure!). Serve with these yummy garlic knots and you've got a winner of a meal for a snowy, winter evening.

Marv 'n' Joe

Source: Hazel's Bakery in the USU food court - originally inspired by two engineering professors, Marv 'n' Joe, this has been sold in the food court for years.

Ingredients:
1 inch-thick slice of bread or half a bagel (anything you like, really - I love wheat or Hazel's Italian Herb and Spice or Salsa Cheese breads, and the parmesan cheese bagel I tried tonight was heavenly, but a nice thick slice of french bread will do the trick, too)
garlic butter (I just mixed some softened butter with a few shakes of garlic powder and dried parsley)
sliced tomatoes (better if they're fresh off the vine, but use what you have)
salt and pepper
vinegar and oil (which I didn't use, and it turned out just fine)
provolone cheese
parmesan cheese

Directions:
Spread your bread or bagel with garlic butter.  Arrange tomato slices on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper and a dash of vinegar and oil to taste.  Top with a slice of provolone cheese followed by a shake or two of parmesan cheese.  Broil on the highest rack in your oven (or if you have a toaster oven, you're even luckier - use that!) for a few minutes, until the edges of your bread turn golden and toasty and your cheese is bubbly and brown.  Eat with a knife and fork if you can't wait to dig in, or let it cool for a minute and pick it up with your hands.

Notes:
This is one of my all-time favorite lunches at USU - super simple, quick, cheap and filling.  And oh-so-delicious.  Today I picked my first juicy red tomato from my plants on the back patio and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.  Oh goodness, was it delightful!