Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

I have tons of Romas ripening in my garden right now so I decided to grab a few more ingredients from the garden (peppers, oregano, thyme, basil, and parsley) and attempt some homemade spaghetti sauce. It was really easy to make this sauce as I just threw all the ingredients in a slow cooker and let it simmer all day. Peeling and de-seeding the tomatoes was the tedious part but trust me it is worth it once you taste the sauce.

After the peeling and de-seeding the tomatoes went for a spin in the food processor and then were thrown into the slow cooker, along with the chopped herbs and a bay leaf. I sauteed chopped onions, bell peppers, and garlic in olive oil and then added them to the tomatoes and herbs. A few drops of Braggs, some pepper, and a few dashes of salt free Spike and I was done. Half way through the day I remembered some organic rosemary that I had in the fridge and added it, whole, to the simmering sauce and then removed it, along with the bay leaf, before serving.

The sauce turned out to be very tasty and the texture was perfect. The secret is definitely to simmer all day. When I attempted homemade sauce last year I cooked it on the stove for only an hour or so and ended up with a watery sauce.

Since B enjoyed the sauce too I wish there had been enough for leftovers. For the next go around I am going to sneak in some pureed Kale and try to make a much larger batch so I can freeze some for future use. I am trying to cut salt out of my diet so this homemade sauce is a much healthier alternative for me over canned sauces.

The King of Kindergarten

With a heavy heart I dropped my little boy off for his first day of kindergarten yesterday. Luckily he doesn't take after his mom and so there were no tears or anxieties on his part. Upon entering the classroom we found B's name on the board under the heading "Leaders", which I later found out meant he got to be in the front of the line all day. When I picked him up the only bit of information I could get out of him about his day was that he drew a picture of himself with "hands coming out of his head and Squidward eyes" and that he played Spiderman at recess.

Today, his second day of school, he got a star on his paper, went on a hunt for the gingerbread man, and was sent to the "lonely table" to finish his picture by himself because he was talking instead of working.

Good Times at Jellystone Park

A weekend of camping at the Yogi Bear themed camping resort in Pine Grove was the perfect way to celebrate B's official end of summer (he starts school this week). This was both mine and B's first time camping so luckily we were joined by good friends and expert campers K and L.

Our weekend was filled with BBQing, roasting marshmallows for smores, swimming, miniature golf, tie dying, and even making friends with the little boy at the campsite next to us.

The biggest highlight of the trip for B was winning a medal for our group winning first place in the treasure hunt. K and I worked our asses off running (yes, I actually ran!) all through the camp grounds gathering the clues and then deciphering them to solve the puzzle, all with the kids in tow. It was so exhausting but all worth it when we finally came across Yogi's picnic basket and opened it up to reveal the 1st place card inside. Later that night at a communal campfire we were awarded our medals which delighted B and L to no end.

It was a great weekend, we all had a blast and look forward to doing it again next year. For me the trip was also a reminder of what kick ass single mothers me and K are; we put up a tent, built fires, jump started a car, and beat out all the other families in the treasure hunt.

Batman Wings

B finally saved up enough money to buy these Batman wings he had been dreaming about owning. When doing chores for money wasn't adding up fast enough he pulled some empty water bottles out of the recycling bin, filled them up with water, and had me make him a sign that said "water for sale $2". He set up his water stand at his train table and after many purchases from mom and grandma he raised enough for a trip to Walmart for the purchase of his wings.