Simple is better

I've never been able to make tomato sauce from scratch. I've tried a handful of times, but never have liked the results. Last week I was laying down because I didn't feel well and I caught an episode of Martha Stewart. She had an easy recipe I wanted to try (which of course I completely altered lol) but it turned out magnificent! 

I used:

a little over 1 lb of fresh tomatoes 

4 Tablespoons butter

1/4 a medium onion

1 small can tomato sauce

house seasoning 

salt

Part of what I liked so much about Martha's recipe was her handy tomato grating tip. It sounded genius... but she forgot to mention you end up with frostbite on your fingers! 

I put the tomatoes in the freezer (they were there about a week until I got to them). I took them out about about half an hour before I was ready to start the sauce so the skins would thaw.  We peeled them, and then used a cheese grater to grate the tomatoes.

When that was done and my fingers thawed, I diced the onion and sauteed them in the butter. Once they were soft, I threw the grated tomato in and let it simmer for 30 minutes. I added house seasoning, plus a little extra salt. 

I didn't have quite enough sauce for what I needed, so I also added one small can of tomato sauce in also.

I served it over veggie spaghetti and Chicken Parmesan! Yum!

ETA: I tried this with canned tomatoes this week (Dec 2011) and at first the flavor was not the same, but after adding a little more salt, butter and a splash of cream it turned out just as delicious! 

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To make the chicken parmesan, I sliced the chicken breasts in half  horizontally (to help them cook quicker). Then I dipped them in 1 beaten egg, and then into breadcrumbs (to which I had added oregano, parsley and house seasoning). I put them in a buttered baking dish and baked them at 400 until done (about 15 minutes). Then I sprinkled on some grated mozzarella and returned it into to the oven for another minute until melted. Garnish with fresh oregano and serve over spaghetti with sauce.