You say tomato; I say tomato; no one says tomahto.

While Zach and I do not really have differing opinions on the pronunciation of the word, "tomato", we do have to participate in a little compromising when it comes to making the perfect tomato sauce. Our song would sound more like:

I say meat balls; you say meat sauce. I say yellow peppers; you say green peppers. I say sugar; you say why not. I say green olives? You say no. I say add red wine; you say that's weird.

I guess I will never be much of a songwriter, but all this back-and-forth does amount to something when it all comes together over some whole wheat thin spaghetti with a side salad drizzled with a homemade balsamic dressing .

The tomato sauce should always come together better when you have a partner with which to discuss the addition of each ingredient since experimenting is key in finding the right mix to work for you. Three words I like to use to describe the perfect sauce are: fresh, chunky, and comforting. This sauce has developed out of a recipe that started with Zach (possibly, the origins go further back?) It was the centerpiece of the first meal he ever made for me when we first started dating. It can be made in bulk, depending on how big your slow cooker is. You can save leftovers in freezer bags, and it almost tastes better after freezing and reheating! It can be made with meatballs or as a meat sauce (by just mixing in cooked ground beef). It can be used as a spaghetti sauce or as anything you would use a tomato sauce for like baked ziti and lasagna.

Zach's I Say Tomato Sauce:

1 6oz can tomato paste
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
2 large fresh tomatoes, chopped (leave the chunks about bite-size, not too small)
1 large white onion, chopped
1/3 of a green bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 C chopped mushrooms
1/3 C dry red wine
1 tsp brown sugar
1 lb cooked ground beef (optional)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf



Just chop it all up and dump it all in a slow cooker.
Mix it all together.
Cook on a low setting for 6-8 hours or on a high setting for 3-4 hours.



Be sure to serve your spaghetti with a nice salad:

Last Night

The past few weeks have been very busy for me. I had some friends in town for the July 4th weekend, and I went to a wedding in San Francisco last weekend. There has been little time to do things like cook and go grocery shopping. This weekend is the first in a while that I will have time to whip up some nice new dishes for this blog. I will also be dog-sitting this pup for our friends that were just married and are now in Hawaii for the honeymoon:



Her name is Three Hole Punch, but she also goes by Punch and sometimes George Clooney.

On a not-yet-but-soon-to-be related note, apparently one of my two adorable nieces, Olivia, is becoming a chatterbox. I use the word "apparently" because sadly she lives across the country from me so I have to settle for stories at this point. My favorite of the new things I have been told she has started to say is when she says "last night". It is more about how she uses the phrase to describe anything that happened in the past, no matter how long ago it was, that is so cute and makes me laugh. I guess she just does not yet understand the concept of differentiating between times in the past. For example, she might say something like, "Last night, I painted a picture for Aunt Lindsey", even though this even took place about three weeks ago. It is in this same regard that I will say, "Last night, I made this delicious pesto spaghetti pie with sun-dried tomatoes on top." I am not sure how long ago it was that I made this recipe (it must have been back sometime before things got too busy around here), but as far as Olivia would be concerned, it was last night.



Last Night Four Cheese Pesto Bake:

(adapted from a Paula Dean recipe)

1 lb spaghetti (I like to use whole grain pasta), cooked al dente according to package instructions
8 oz ricotta cheese (you can use up to 16 oz, but I think the 8oz is plenty)
12 oz pesto sauce (you can use a little more if you like)
2 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 C grated parmesan cheese
1 C crumbled goat cheese
3/4 C sun dried tomatoes (in a jar with olive oil)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine ricotta, goat cheese, parmesean, 3/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese, and pesto sauce.

Slowly add the spaghetti (about 1/4th of the pound at a time)to the bowl, mixing thoroughly, until the all of the pasta is coated heavily with the cheese and pesto blend.

Transfer mixture to a 9"x13" casserole dish, and sprinkle remaining shredded mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes evenly over top. Cover with foil to avoid burning the cheese on top during baking.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes. Remove foil and turn oven up to broil for an additional 1-2 minutes.



Enjoy this as a nice heavy side dish to grilled chicken or as a vegetarian entree. I also like to serve it with some nice yellow summer squash on the side.

Ballbusters

This is a tribute to Ballbusters. The following are a few that stick out in my mind as women who's accomplishments are often overlooked because of their overbearing, ballbusting qualities:

Hillary "monochromatic suit" Clinton: Whether you agree with her politics or not, this lady knows how to hold it together under certain stressful circumstances.

Kate "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" Gosselin: Some say she is a "MOMster", driving her husband into the arms of a 23 year-old schoolteacher. But, I don't want to even try to imagine where she would be without her ambition, her git-r-done personality with the kids , and a lame husband to boss around? Who knows?

Anna "The Devil Wears Prada" Wintour: She is quite possibly the most intimidating woman in the world to men and women alike, serving as the basis for the character of 'Miranda Priestly' played by Meryl Streep in the 2006 comedy, The Devil Wears Prada. Her sharp fashion sense and ability to make snap-quick decisions made her the successful editor-in-chief of American Vogue. I am tempted to crown her queen of the ballbusters, but as is in all areas of life, there will always be someone one step ahead. Sorry Anna Wintour.



Meat Ballbusters:

(based on a recipe from recipezaar.com)

This recipe makes a bunch of balls (depending on how big or small you make them). They are especially delicious when you cook them by dropping them in a nice chunky homemade tomato sauce (recipe coming soon). The flavors mix with each other when cooked slowly like that.

1 ½ lbs ground beef
1 large egg, slightly beaten
½ C grated parmesan cheese
1/3 C breadcrumbs (or use enough to hold the meat together)
1-2 tbsp fresh minced garlic (or use 1 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste)
1-2 tsp salt (or to taste, I use 2 teaspoons seasoned salt)
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/3 C milk (can use up to 1/2 cup milk)
½ tsp dried oregano (optional, or to taste)
¼ C chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tablespoons dried parsley)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Shape into small meatballs (at this point you can place on a jelly-roll/baking sheet and freeze to use later, or cover with plastic wrap refrigerate up to 24 hours before using).

Drop the meatballs into simmering pasta sauce, do not stir for at least 20 minutes or you will risk breaking the meatballs.

Continue cooking in the simmering sauce for another 20 minutes (depending on how fast your sauce is simmering 40 minutes total should fully cook the meatballs).

After the 40 minutes cooking time continue cooking your sauce with the meatballs in for as long as desired.

* you may also bake the meatballs at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

You can also serve these as an appetizer, sprinkling the balls with some fresh parmesan cheese. The ground beef mixture also makes nice juicy gourmet hamburgers. Although I would not necessarily use it for a traditional ketchup, mustard, and cheddar cheese, and bacon all-American style burger. I would probably pair a burger patty made with this meat with some asiago cheese (or another dry, aged type of cheese), sun dried tomatoes (or sun dried tomato paste), caramelized onions (or thinly sliced fresh ones), some mixed greens, and a nice fancy artisan style bun to make more of a fancy burger...if you like that sort of thing.

This is a picture of these balls in a homemade sauce (again, recipe soon to come):