Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Happy Halloween!  It's been such a good weekend - a fun family Halloween party on Saturday and pumpkin carving with our boys on Sunday.  To me, Halloween is the kickoff for the holidays.

Even though summer is my favorite season of the year (I'm a warm weather girl) I do love this time of year as well.  One of my favorite things to make with the abundant supply of ripe tomatoes is fresh homemade spaghetti sauce.

My mom gave me a basic recipe when Brad and I were first married.  Over the years I've modified the original recipe a little bit and this has become a family favorite of ours.  I love the way our home smells when I have a pot of this wonderful sauce simmering on the stove. 

 HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil

1 lb mild Italian sausage

1/4 cup finely diced onions

6-8 garlic cloves, crushed and diced (to taste)

8-12 ripe tomatoes, diced or pureed in a blender to desired consistency (may also use 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes without flavorings added)

4 Tbs oregano leaves

3 Tbs Basil leaves

2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

additional 1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

In a large sauce pan, cook diced onions until they're soft.  Add crushed garlic and Italian sausage and cook until browned.

Add diced or pureed tomatoes, spices, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 60-90 minutes stirring occasionaly - this causes a chemical change in the tomatoes and cooks off extra liquid.  Stir in remaining olive oil immediately before serving and serve over hot pasta with grated Parmesan cheese.  This Garlic Bread Recipe from a previous post goes great with this spaghetti.  Mmmm!

I Love this Quote

I saw this quote on Pinterest - which if you haven't heard of Pinterest yet it's become my new favorite pastime.  It's a site that allows you to post favorite web pages, pictures, sayings, recipes, etc - like an online bulletin board - and you can follow the pins from others too.  It's full of fun and fabulous things. 

Anyway, back to this amazing quote.  I'd love to have this hanging in my home - what a great attitude and philosophy to have.  I'd never heard of William Arthur Ward before so I googled his name and there's a bunch of information about him out there - he's on of the most quoted American authors of inspirational writing.

He's written a bunch of newspaper and magazine articles, poems and stories.  Here's a link to one site listing many other famous quotes by William Arthur Ward and here's another link to his official website.  I love his positive and motivating take on life.  I thought I'd share a few more quotes of his that I really liked:

Lose yourself in generous service and every day can be a most unusual day, a triumphant day, an abundantly rewarding day!

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. 

When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.

Birthday Pics

This one is a catch up post.  I spent so much time training for the half marathon I ran back in August that I didn't do much posting during the summer months.  Winston had his 5th birthday last month - I can't believe he's five already!  He's come so far and is growing so fast.

Winston wanted a birthday party so we put one together for him with a few of his friends and his cousins. We did a sports themed party - Brad and I came up with a few games and we had it at the park.

Here's Winston with a couple of his best buddies.

This game was Throw the football through the hoop.

We also had a water balloon race - they had to carry the balloon on a large spoon without dropping it.

Of course, we had a pinata - shaped like a football.  :)

The mad scramble for the goodies.

The birthday boy opening his presents.

Mmmm.  Birthday cake!  (I ate way too much of this.)

Make a wish and blow out the candles.  All in all a fun time with family and friends. Our little guy is growing up.

Fall Recipes - Red Hot Cinnamon Cider

With the weather getting colder - the leaves are changing in the mountains and the local apple orchards are ripening up.  They'll be ready soon - don't you just love those first crop fresh picked apples?  They're so crisp and juicy.  Mmmm!

 One of my favorite apple recipes has only two ingredients and is so easy to make - cinnamon apple cider!  I got this recipe from a friend - she serves it every year at our cookie exchange party and I always look forward to having a few glasses of this yummy drink.  Here's the supper simple and delicious recipe.  :)

RED – HOT CINNAMON CIDER

Ingredients:
4 c. (1 qt.) apple cider or juice
¼ c. cinnamon red hot candies

In 1 quart saucepan, combine cider or juice and candies; bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes or until candies dissolve. Serve hot or cold. If desired, garnish with apple wedge or cinnamon stick stirrer. Yield 8 (1/2 cup) servings.

1st day of Pre-School

I'm a little late getting these pics posted but better late than never, right?  Winston has been waiting anxiously all summer long for his first day of school.  He was so excited to finally get to go.
 

He picked out what he wanted to wear the night before and had it all laid out - ready to put on as soon as he woke up.  When it was time to leave he was even telling me to hurry up - a first for him (I'm usually the one telling him to hurry.)  I love watching him grow up and seeing him feel so proud.  He makes my heart smile.  :)

Chex/Graham Mix - a Family Favorite

This is a recipe I gained/inherited from Brad's mom.  It's a favorite of their family - she made it every year for Christmas.  It's a favorite of our family too but we make it all the time - it's too good to only have at Christmas time.  Another plus - it only takes about 15 minutes to make two cookie sheets full of wonderful deliciousness.  Don't you just love an easy and super yummy recipe?  Me too!  :)

Chex/Graham Mix

Mix together in a large bowl:

1/2 box Rice Chex

1/2 box Golden Grahams

1 1/2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds

In a sauce pan, combine:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup light Karo syrup

Stir over medium to medium high heat until mixture begins to boil.  Bring to a full boil and boil for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp vanilla until well mixed.  Immediately pour over the cereal mixture and stir until well coated.  Spread  mixture out on two wax paper covered cookie sheets to cool.  Enjoy!

 

10 Day Challenge - Day Ten

And last but not least day ten: Ten Secrets

1. I'd LOVE to be a stay at home mom while Winston is still young.
2. I wish I could work from home.
3. I want to go back to school and finish my degree.
4. I love my boys more than I can say and wouldn't trade them for anything, but I do wish I'd been able to have a daughter or two.
5. I'm very shy and more often than not feel extremely awkward in social settings.  I also wish I had more really close friends but the shyness is always holding me back.
6. I'm looking forward to having grand children someday. (no rush though!)
7. I'd love to travel and am looking forward to the day when Brad and I can travel together - just the two of us.
8. I'm a terrible procrastinator and always have been.
9. My house is more often a clutterly mess than not.
10. Sometimes I long to have a day where I could sleep in, lounge around half the day with a good book and spend the other half watching some good chick flicks all by myself.

Well, that's the end.  It's been fun to share a little about myself these past 10 days.  :)

10 Day Challenge - Day Nine

Wow, on to day nine already:  Nine Loves

1. Brad - my true love & best friend.
2. My boys - all three of them!
3. Being a mom - the most satisfying and enjoyable job/work I've ever done.
4. Chocolate Fudge ice cream from Baskin Robbins.
5. Water skiing on a calm, hot day at Lake Powell.
6. The smell of cottonwood trees in the rain.
7. A good book.
8. Fall drives with Brad to see the beautiful leaves.
9. Our Heavenly Father, my faith and beliefs.  I love the hope and peace they bring to my life.