Tomato Sauce Success!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Over the July Fourth weekend festivities, we received some very delicious produce from a family member's garden. I was very excited; tomatoes, zucchini, squash and cucumbers! So many ideas! So many recipes to try! Foodie overload!

As I was going over and washing the haul of amazing looking veggies, I noticed that I didn't have much longer before the tomatoes would go bad.

 So, today I decided to make some homemade tomato sauce for some spaghetti! (My daughter's favorite dish!)

Of course, I did my usual: I perused through some of my favorite food blogs, recipe sites and cook books; got an idea in my head about how the majority go about making homemade tomato sauce and then headed to my spice rack!

I have a bad habit of not measuring . . . But somehow, what ever I am cooking or baking turns out just right. (Don't get me wrong, if it's a tricky recipe, I will definitely measure my ingredients . . . I'm not opposed to measuring.)

What I used to season the tomatoes:

A dash of sea salt
1 tsp. of Garlic salt with a bit of parsley
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp. of cane sugar
1/2 tsp. of cardamom

(Once I blended the tomatoes, I stirred in the spices.)

I then cut up half a purple onion.

I then put the chopped onion in a little olive oil to sauté.







Then I added the tomato and spice mixture, put on low heat to simmer and cook for two hours.

Little tastes on a spoon tell me its going to be very yummy!

Sizzle Burgers!

My mother in law introduced me this afternoon to "Sizzle Burgers."

All you need is your burger patty (whether you make them homemade or buy them at the grocery..), Worcestershire Sauce, butter and onions!

First, sauté the chopped onions in your butter!

Next, add about "a lot" of Worcestershire Sauce :)

Then add in your burgers, cook to perfection (your choice of wellness.)

Et voila! Sizzle burgers.

July Fourth Leftovers!

What am I going to do with this leftover fruit salad?

Freeze it and turn it into breakfast smoothies!!

Pinterest is quite useful . . .

I made a Pinterest for Fists of Flour!

Pins by Fists of Flour

Love and Food go hand in hand

My Go-To Banana Bread Recipe

You glance at the counter and see that your bananas are quite ripe. Some people say that is the perfect time to eat them. Others (like my dad) get grossed out and quickly throw them away! I personally think they make the perfect banana bread!

I stumbled upon smitten kitchen and their awesome take on some banana bread with a sweet little surprise ingredient! It has been one of my favorite banana bread recipes ever since!

So here it is:

Elise’s Friend Heidi’s Friend Mrs. Hockmeyer’s Banana Bread, As Jacked Up by Deb

Adapted from Simply Recipes

No need for a mixer for this recipe — need I say more?

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer, I always use the smaller amount)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.