Making Homemade Pasta Sauce

I have finally been able to harvest some of my tomatoes this year! I still have more coming, but I couldn't wait to try my hand at some homemade pasta sauce.

Spoiler Alert: I did not make everything from scratch. Because it was my first year trying this, I bought a mix with all the perfect amount of seasonings already in it. Yep, I am not as domestic as I thought I was. :)

I first washed all the tomatoes (about 6lbs) and then put them in a big pot to boil for about 3 minutes. I used the same ratio of tomato kinds - Big Boy, Beef Steak, and Romas, but then I threw in a few more Romas so the sauce would be a bit thicker.

After boiling, I dunked the tomatoes in cold water and began the process of peeling off their skin and taking out the middles. Then, it was time to puree!

After making sure all the tomatoes were smooth, I put the tomatoes into a big pot again, poured in my handy little packet of spices, and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes until it had thickened. It smelled sooooo good!

At this point, you are able to can it or freeze it up to a year, or put it in the fridge to use within a week. But make sure you let the sauce cool completely first! I chose to freeze two of my jars, and then left one in the fridge to use the next day for stuffed shells!

The 6lbs of tomatoes only gave me three cans of pasta sauce, but from my estimates, it was still cheaper than buying a can from the store. It was also extremely yummy! Cannot wait to make more!