Crock Pot Freezer Spaghetti Sauce

If your garden tomatoes have been as bountiful as mine have this year, you have tomatoes coming out the wazoo and can't find enough recipes to use them all up!  Thankfully, I found this easy-peezy crock-pot tomato sauce recipe.  I don't have the patients, or time, for canning tomato sauce, so this recipe was just what I needed, and the sauce can be safely stored in the freezer so it can be enjoyed for months to come (if it lasts that long)!

Crock Pot Freezer Spaghetti Sauce
(makes about 4 quarts)

Ingredients:

• 4 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I usually put extra in for extra garlicy flavor)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 16 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup vegetable or olive/grapeseed oil
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Directions:

1.  In a slow cooker, saute together the onion, garlic, green pepper, and vegetable oil. Cook until onion is transparent.

2.  Add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, sugar, salt, and ground black pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 hours on low heat. Stir frequently.

3.  Let sauce cool. Pour sauce into quart size freezer containers. Store in freezer.

4.  When ready to use sauce, thaw, heat over stove and stir in can of tomato paste.  Feel free to add other ingredients that you prefer in your tomato sauce - I like ground turkey and mushrooms.  Serve over pasta dish and enjoy!

Note:  Foodsafety.gov says that you should use frozen soups and stews within 2-3 months of freezing.

June 2015 Harvests

Looking back on my June veggie and fruit harvests, I can see it was a very productive month.  Of course, I don't need to look at the pictures to figure that out.  I can just open my fridge to see it overflowing with cucumber and tomatoes to see that I have more produce than my household can consume.

I was especially proud of my blackberry harvest.  I planted 6-7 blackberry plants about three years ago, and didn't get a single blackberry harvest until this year.  Unfortunately, only one of my plants survived the last few hot and dry summers, but I still got a decent harvest from the one plant.  I planted another three plants this year, which seem to really be taking off, so hopefully I'll get some good harvests in the coming years, maybe even enough to make some jam.

With our continued heavy rainfalls, I've only had to supplement watering about once or twice this season, which is drastically different from prior years, when my garden required daily watering.  I recently learned from a Central Texas Gardener episode that some stress on plants by not getting daily watering is actually good for them and makes them more productive, so I now only water the garden about once or twice a week, if there is no rainfall.  The garden seems to be doing well with that method.

I am constantly cooking old and new recipes with the produce.  I use as much as I can fresh, as well as dabbled in some of my first canning attempts.  And my family, friends, and co-workers are willing to let me unload any excess produce on them.

Here are some of the ways I've been using my produce:

Breakfast

• Tomatoes and peppers chopped and added to egg dishes
• Blackberries on top of cereal or with yogurt and granola for a parfait

Lunch

• Tomatoes and cucumbers added to every sandwich
• Cucumber soup
• Caprese salad, with fresh basil from the garden

Snack

• Sliced cucumbers dipped in hummus
• Blackberries with crackers, cheese, and charcuterie

Side Dish

• Tomato and cucumber salad with lemon juice, salt and pepper
• Fresh babaganoush with garden eggplant

Dinner

• Eggplant rollatini

Here are the June 2015 harvest tallies (37 lbs 7.8 oz total)!:

• 1 lb 13.5 oz blackberries
• 10 lb 10 oz pickling cucumbers (19)
• 7 lb 6.7 oz slicing cucumbers (14)
• 2 lb 10.3 oz Black Beauty eggplant (3)
• 1 lb 6.8 0z Ichiban eggplant (5)
• 4.5 oz Blue Lake green beans
• 0.8 oz Cayenne peppers
• 4.3 oz Gypsy peppers (3)
• 12.5 oz Beefmaster tomatoes (1)
• 7.5 oz Better Boy tomatoes (1)
• 6.2 oz Brandywine tomatoes (1)
• 3 lb 1.3 oz Celebrity tomatoes (8)
• 3.5 oz Cherry tomatoes
• 1 lb 13.5 oz Early Girl tomatoes (8)
• 1 lb 1.6 oz Grape tomatoes
• 1 lb 9.2 oz Juliet tomatoes
• 2 lb 7.8 oz Pear tomatoes
• 15.8 oz Roma tomatoes (7)

2015 total harvests to date (68 lbs 2.0 oz):

• 1 lb 13.5 oz blackberries
• 1 lb 1.2 oz broccoli
• 5 lb 13.9 oz Fordhook chard
• 5 lb 13.2 oz Ruby Red chard
• 7.1 oz cilantro
• 6 lb 10.3 oz Flash collards
• 10 lb 10 oz pickling cucumbers (19)
• 7 lb 6.7 oz slicing cucumbers (14)
• 3 lb 7.9 oz Black Beauty eggplant (3)
• 1 lb 6.8 0z Ichiban eggplant (5)
• 7 colanders salad greens (lettuce, spinach, arugula)
• 2 lb 0 oz Blue Lake green beans
• 3 lb 13.9 oz kale
• 1 lb 2.9 oz Meyer lemons (5)
• 6.5 oz parsley
• 0.8 oz Cayenne peppers
• 2.4 oz Flavorburst yellow pepper (1)
• 7.1 oz Gypsy peppers (5)
• 0.8 oz Mariachi pepper (1)
• 2.9 oz Pablano pepper (2)
• 7.5 oz Cherry Bell radish
• 4.0 oz spinach
• 12.5 oz Beefmaster tomatoes (1)
• 7.5 oz Better Boy tomatoes (1)
• 6.2 oz Brandywine tomatoes (1)
• 3 lb 1.3 oz Celebrity tomatoes (8)
• 3.5 oz Cherry tomatoes
• 2 lb 15.2 oz Early Girl tomatoes (12)
• 1 lb 3.4 oz Grape tomatoes
• 1 lb 9.2 oz Juliet tomatoes
• 2 lb 12.0 oz Pear tomatoes
• 15.8 oz Roma tomatoes (7)

Homemade Tomato Sauce and Eggplant Rollatini

I love having all the garden fresh vegetables in my kitchen to use in delicious homemade recipes.  The food always tastes so much better with organic, garden ripe vegetables.  I can actually FEEL the extra nutrients I'm consuming from my healthy garden produce.  The fun thing about growing my own veggies as well, is that I'm constantly trying out new recipes to use up all my fresh produce.

Most recently, I had an abundance of tomatoes and eggplant.  I had A LOT of tomatoes, so I decided to try my hand at making my very first batch of homemade tomato sauce.  With the eggplant, I made my favorite dish, eggplant rollatini - a dish I've made several times before, but always enjoy more with garden fresh eggplant.

EASY FRESH TOMATO BASIL SAUCE

I didn't have a lot of time available to go through the process of pealing the tomato skins off, so I opted for a simpler recipe that kept the tomato skins on.  I used the below recipe from here.  However, I ended up only using about 6 pounds of tomatoes.  I also added a few sprigs of oregano, from the garden.

Prep Time:  20 min
Cook Time:  2 hrs
Serves:  6

Ingredients
8 pounds tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

 Tomatoes - seeded and diced.  The juice and seeds was used in some veggie juices later on.

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, cook tomatoes and basil over medium-low heat until tomatoes are soft.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent.
3. Add onion mixture to tomato mixture and add salt and pepper.  Let simmer on low heat for 2 hours or until thick.

EGGPLANT ROLLATINI

This is my absolute favorite dish to eat.  It was made extra delicious by my garden fresh eggplant and homemade tomato sauce.  I got the recipe from here, and also posted below. I always make a double batch, so that I can eat it all throughout the week, and also have some to freeze for later, too.

Prep:  15 minutes
Cook:  30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup ricotta cheese

• 10 slices prosciutto
• 1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 pound angel hair pasta

Directions

1. Dip the eggplant slices in egg, then coat with bread crumbs. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant on each side until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese onto each slice of eggplant. Place a slice of prosciutto onto each one. Roll up tightly, and place seam side down in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over the rolls, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
5. While the eggplant rolls are baking, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the angel hair pasta, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until tender. Drain. Serve eggplant rolls and sauce over pasta.

Today's Harvest: First Tomatoes

Today I harvest my first tomatoes of the season... some Sweet 100 Cherry tomatoes, 3 Early Girls, and 1 Juliet Roma Grape tomato.  While today's harvest was small, the tomato plants are loaded with green fruit, so I know I have a bountiful harvest coming my way.  This is extremely satisfying, especially considering the last two years I got zero fruit.  I guess patients is the name of the game when you are a gardener.

Harvest Totals (since April)

• 5 lbs Cherry Bell Radishes

• 3 lbs Giant Fordhook Swiss Chard

• 3 lb 5.5 oz Pic-N-Pic Summer Squash (5 squash)

• 5 lbs 6.3 oz Black Beauty Zucchini (3 squash)

• 13.7 oz Mammoth Melting Sugar Peas

• 5.1 oz Mucho Nacho Jumbo Jalapeno (6)

• 1 lb 0.2 oz Bush Blue Lake 274 Green Beans

• 5.3 oz Gypsy Sweet Peppers (2)

• 2.3 oz Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato

• 0.6 oz Juliet Roma Grape Tomato

• 11.3 oz Early Girl Tomato (3)

Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants - Round Two

I planted a bed of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants at the beginning of the month, but with all the late freezes we got in Central Texas this year, everything died.  We should be in the clear now, and with a weekend of beautiful weather, I was able to replant my tomato/pepper/eggplant bed.

This time around, I planted the following:

Eggplant

• 2 Black Beauties
• 1 Long Purple

Peppers

• 1 Green Bell
• 1 Yellow Bell
• 1 Gypsy Sweet
• 1 California Wonder Select Sweet
• 1 Serrano
• 1 Pablano
• 1 Hot Cayenne
• 1 Jalapeno
• 1 Mucho Nacho - Jumbo Jalapeno

Tomatoes

• 1 Big Boy Hybrid
• 1 Roma
• 1 Early Girl
• 1 Bradley Heirloom
• 1 Juliet - Roma Grape Hybrid
• 1 Super Sweet 100 Cherry

I can't wait to see how all these varieties do this summer!

Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants, OH MY!

Last weekend was perfect weather - 82 degrees and sunny.  It was great gardening weather and inspired me to make a trip to the Natural Gardener and Home Depot to get a kick start on my veggie beds.  Tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants were out at the stores, so I couldn't resist grabbing a variety to plant in one of my 10x4 foot vegetable beds.  I picked up and planted the following:

Tomatoes

• 1 Better Boy
• 1 Celebrity
• 1 Tycoon
• 1 Valley Girl
• 1 Cherry Super Sweet 100
• 1 Red Cherry

Peppers

• 4 Hot Cayenne
• 1 Pablano
• 1 Mammoth Jalapeno
• 1 Yummy Snacking Petite Bell 
• 1 Serrano
• 2 Red Bells
• 1 Giant Marconi Sweet Bell
• 1 Carmen Sweet

Eggplants

• 2 Black Beauties

Unfortunately, I was probably a bit too impatient.  I really should have waited a few more weeks to plant these summer plants.  We had a couple nights that dipped into the 30s last week and it is suppose to freeze again tonight, which does not bode well for these heat-loving plants.  I covered them with some freeze cloths last week and they seemed alright, so hopefully they will get through tonight's freeze alright.  Even if they survive the freeze, the cold weather will probably end up stunting their growth, since they prefer to not get below 50.  I may have to do some replanting later this spring.

Tomato Cages

I've been doing a lot of reading on the best way to support tomato plants.  It seems that the general consensus is to use concrete wire mesh and form the wire into circular cages.  Again, I enlisted the help of my wonderful husband to help with the project.


First, I had to get the wire mesh.  I shopped around a bit and found rolls of 150ft by 5ft rolls at Home Depot for about $110.  I didn't think that I would use all 150ft in the near future, so I looked to see if there were any half rolls available.  After looking at other big box home improvement stores and local landscaping stores, I had no luck.  It seemed I had to bite the bullet and get a full roll, or buy the smaller sheets of remesh at Home Depot.  But, I didn't want to do this because the sheets were only 3.5ft tall, when I really wanted at least 5ft cages, since tomato plants can reach 6ft tall if they are indeterminate.  I did, however, find a local concrete/landscape company that sold the 150ft roll for $85, so Jon picked up the roll for me.

We also bought some heavy duty bolt cutters at Home Depot to cut through the wire (about $15), and some zip ties to secure the wire into a circle.

So far, Jon and I have made 8 tomato cages.  We made three different sizes - 5ft, 5.5, and 6ft in length, which end up being about 19 inches to 23 inches in diameter.  It is helpful to make a few different sizes so that I can stake the cages inside each other for storage if I need to move them out of my garden.  The cages are about 4.5ft tall since we cut open the bottom 6 inches of the mesh to make prongs to stick into the ground to hold the cages more securely in place.  I plan to make at least 2 more tomato cages, for a total of 10 cages.

I still have about 100ft of remesh left after the cages, but I plan make good use of it by setting up some trellises to grow some of my squash vertically.  I also plan to make some trellises for my cucumbers eventually.  I'm very happy with the result of the project.


Side note, the concrete remesh is very sharp and since it is tightly coiled, it has a lot of spring and power as you unroll it.  I was extremely careful while cutting the wire, but Jon is not nearly as cautious as I am, and it ended up getting him in the end.  The coil of wire sprung back and gave him a good size cut on the the back of his arm.  The wire is very rusty, and Jon has not had a tetanus shot in the last 10 years, so he ended up having to go to the doctor the next day to get his updated shot (much to his dislike, but to my relief).  Make sure you have an updated tetanus shot, wear gloves and eye protection, and take extreme caution before working with concrete remesh!