Pioneer Woman at Heart

We've had a very happy garden moment!  I picked 17.5# of tomatoes on just one picking.  If you've been reading my blog regularly, you know we planted about 100 plants and got under 20# since they started producing.  I wanted to climb the roof and shout it to the world, I was that happy. How to preserve tomatoes for sauce making.  Rinse and dry tomatoes whole.  Freeze in freezer bags or freezer containers.  Don't forget to label so you know the exact weight.  Thaw and use for sauce making recipes.    By the way, the skin comes right off of these when they thaw.  It didn't help me with my sauce making (I toss them in a pot, and run through a sauce maker), but if you don't have a sauce maker I thought I would share. Dug this bad boy out for the first time this season. Such a happy day for me yesterday!!  Tomato sauce!!

It's a chilly 32°F here this morning.  Brrr.  We have not yet turned on the heat (nor burned wood).  Wood....let's not be reminded we are so far behind on that chore (gasp!). I recently used some pumpkin puree to try another new recipe - Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells (Country Living, online). I purchased my pasta shells.  Barilla is certified Non-Gmo.  If you prefer, you could use homemade lasagna noodles and roll them, slice and bake in the tomato sauce too (for a completely self-sufficient dinner, adding a garden veggie for a side, homemade rolls etc.).  The basil and sage came fresh from my herb garden.  I had just enough of each herb. We absolutely loved this dish, but to me it lacks a protein.  I think I'll have a side of meatballs or something with it next time, for us meat eaters.  Tuesday night I went to bed completely e-xh-aus-ted.  I spent the day baking and mashing sweet potatoes, amongst other chores. ...