Garden Tomato Pasta

So I have said it over and over my family LOVES pasta and I make it often because I can put almost any veggie with it and my little boys eat it all up!!  With all the tomatoes coming in from my mother-in-law's garden I needed to make some new pasta dishes other than just the regular old pureed tomato sauce!  Here is the recipe for my current favorite!  Casey said it was the best pasta dish I had ever made for him...but it was midnight and he was starving!  I hope you have some fresh tomatoes at your house or can get some because right now they are delicious and you just can't beat the homegrown taste :)

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
4 cups (about) chopped tomatoes
1 cup torn basil leaves, plus a little more for garnish
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 lb angel hair pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or the good old green can if your in a bind :)

Start by turning the pan on high and adding the oil.  Also, fill a large pot with water and salt it to taste like the ocean.  Turn on high heat and wait for it to boil.  To the saute pan with hot oil add onions.  Stir around for about 2 minutes, you want them to cook but not get too brown.  Season well with salt and pepper!  Turn heat to medium and add in garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the garlic becomes soft.  Your pot of water will probably boil by now so add in angel hair pasta and cook according to the directions on the box...mine said 4 minutes.  When pasta is done strain.  Turn saute pan's heat to low and stir in tomatoes and basil.  Cook on low for about 5 minutes.  The juices from the tomatoes will come out and you want all the ingredients to melt together.  My tomatoes are super sweet so there is a really great balance to the sauce.  Then your sauce is done!  Add in the angel hair and use tongs to toss the pasta with the sauce completely.  Use Parmesan cheese and a little fresh basil to garnish and you are ready to enjoy!

The sauce

Fresh, beautiful and delicious! 

Grilled Tomato Skewers

If you are friends with me on facebook I'm sure you have seen the pictures of my boys and I picking tomatoes from my mother-in-law's garden!  She has CRAZY amounts of tomatoes, I have never seen anything like it.  We pick hundreds at a time and there are still a ton left!  So with all these tomatoes around the house I have come up with some tasty ways to enjoy them!  Today, I just have a couple of minutes so I will share a quick recipe that is as easy as they come, but look beautiful for your family dinner at home or your next party!  I hope you try these, they are super yummy!!

What you need:
Skewers
Cherry tomatoes
Olive Oil
Salt&Pepper
Smoked Paprika

In a large bowl combine tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika.  Toss until the tomatoes are well coated.  Now, its time to skewer the tomatoes.  I try to have tomatoes that are the same size on each skewer, but will mix different varieties. If you have a tomato that is much larger than the others, that one will get grilled but it will prevent the smaller tomatoes from reaching the grill.  Place on a well heated grill and turn while cooking to get some beautiful grill marks on all sides of the tomatoes.  Let them cook until the tomatoes start to pop!  Then they are ready to eat!  These are perfect on their own, or to be removed and stirred into a rice or pasta dish.  Enjoy!