Roasted Marinara Sauce...10+

This year when considering my garden, I wanted tomatoes for pasta sauce and salsa.  Sooo, when I saw this recipe on a blog I follow, Frugal Living NW, right when the tomatoes in my garden were turning red, I had to make it! 

Roasted Marinara SauceThe amounts listed in this recipe are just a good place to start.  Adjust the ingredients to suit your tastes.
Yield: around 22 cups (5-6 quarts) (Mine made 24 cups)

8 c. cherry tomatoes or 24 medium tomatoes (I used a mixture of both. TOP: 4 c. cherry BOTTOM: 16 romas)
2 medium onions, quartered (Used one large)
8-10 garlic cloves, peeled (Used garlic press)
olive oil
salt
basil leaves
garlic chives
small zucchini, yellow squash, a few leftover cooked carrots
1-3 cans tomato paste, optional (Used 1 small can) + 1/2 cup Homemade Almond Pesto - could add more if you like pesto!

1. Wash and stem the cherry tomatoes or wash and core (remove stems) the whole tomatoes. Split them evenly, in a single layer, between 2 9×13″ baking dishes. The larger tomatoes can be left whole; they will break down during the roasting process. Toss the quartered onions and peeled garlic cloves evenly between the two pans. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt. Sprinkle the basil leaves over the top of the tomatoes.
2. Roast at 425 for 30-40 minutes. (I roasted for 40 minutes and my house smelled amazing!) The timing isn’t an exact science. The combination will smell incredibly fragrant, and the tomatoes and onions will look wrinkled, roasted, and slightly charred. Remove the pans from the oven and set on the counter to cool for 10-15 minutes.
3. Place a large collander inside a large bowl and dump the pans into the collander to strain out the juice. Set the juice aside.
4. Puree the tomato mixture in a blender or food processor until it reaches the desired consistency. Dump the pureed tomato sauce into the reserved juice and stir until thoroughly combined. You could also add tomato paste if you desire a thicker sauce. Taste. Season with more salt, if needed.
5. Serve immediately over cooked pasta or freeze in plastic containers or bags for later use.

**I have MORE tomatoes and plan on making this again!  Next time, I plan on using the spices in Kelly's recipe at Onceamonthmom and adding them to the above recipe and tasting what happens :)

Marinara Sauce a la Seaton

Author/Source:

Kelly @ Onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients:

• 5.5 cups diced tomatoes, organic canned
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons garlic, diced
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 Tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 Tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1) Place all ingredients into crock pot, and cook on low and uncovered, for 8 hours.
2) Once finished, blend until smooth with an immersion blender. Or place small batches into a regular blender and blend until smooth.
3) Place into a bowl and set aside until use.

Freezing Directions:

After cooking, let cool and place in freezer ready containers or a plastic bag, let the air out, and freeze until ready. To serve, simply re-heat on the stovetop for use with your favorite Italian dishes.

Servings: 6 Cups

I will post on how it turns out.  I have a feeling it will be nothing short of amazing! 

Did you notice the other vegetables around the baking dish?  We ate dinner at my parent's house to celebrate 39 years of marriage bliss!  Yes, you read that right!  Thiry nine years!  They are such an inspiration and show true love, patience, and kindness to each other and those they love. 

The extra bounty is from their neighbor's garden...corn, squash, tomatoes, cucembers...my mouth is watering!  Organic and freshly picked, it does not get any better than that!   While we were there, my Mom took my oldest berry picking.  I followed them down with my toddler who unknowingly would have ended up in a twine of berry thornes without my hovering!