Tomayto, Tomato, Pahsta, Pawsta...

However you choose to pronounce it, we had homemade tomato sauce with ziti and italian style ground beef for dinner/tea tonight. I meant to make this Wednesday, but forgot to get up early enough to chop everything and put it in the crock pot. I got home early enough, I could have made it when I got home, but I really wanted to use my crock pot, which took longer than the two hours I had. So...I made it Thursday.

I've been making homemade tomato sauce a lot lately. It saves money and I can suit it to our tastes. I have been using powders instead of the real thing because it cooks faster, but since I was doing the crock pot, I wanted to do the fresh ingredients! My boyfriend said he really noticed a difference and it had a much fresher, more vibrant taste.

Pasta Sauce (in a 5 qt. slow cooker)

1 part diced tomatoes to 2 parts tomato sauce (I can't remember the can size I used, but it pretty well filled my crock pot)
1 can of tomato paste
I medium white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced (we love garlic flavour)
1 bay leaf


I didn't have these fresh, so during the last two hours of cooking I added:
2-3 tablespoons parsley flakes
2-3 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Put ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for approximately 10 hours. This made a lot of sauce and we put the extra in a container to freeze and use later.

Garlic Bread:
1 Italian loaf of bread
butter
garlic salt (I have the kind with parsley)

1. Slice the bread in one inch sections.
2. Leave the bottom crust intact, don't slice all the way through.
3. Butter each side of the slices.
4. Sprinkle garlic salt to taste on each side of the slices.
5. Wrap in aluminum foil and heat in 350°F oven until butter is melted and crust is crispy.

Italian Style Ground Beef:
http://www.recipezaar.com/218857

I hadn't made pasta in a while and both Lee and I are pasta lovers! We didn't realize how much we missed it until tonight!