Summer Pesto Baguettes

Earlier this summer, I made pesto from the basil in my herb garden and I wasn't sure what to do with it. I remember my great-grandmother talking about something she had eaten once; pesto, tomato, and cheese on a baguette slice. It sounded wonderful to me, so I purchased two long, crunchy baguettes, took my fresh pesto from the fridge, picked a few red, ripe tomatoes from the garden, and set to work. It took me a few tries to perfect this little recipe, but I am quite pleased with it, and I hope you enjoy it too. This is more of "throw together" recipe, but I believe it can be replicated with great success.

 

 

Yields 10 servings 
Ingredients:
One long baguette
One or two large fresh tomatoes, cubed
1/2 C. Fresh pesto
1 C. Mozzarella cheese, cubed (use more or less cheese as desired)
Butter
Salt
Black Pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Slice your baguette into 3/4 in. slices and butter one side. Place the buttered side down on a parchment-covered pan. Lightly salt and pepper the top of the bread, and add a thin layer of pesto. Top the slice with three or four small tomato cubes; do the same with the mozzarella cheese cubes. Place the pan in the oven for about ten or fifteen minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Serve hot.

Heart of Italy Spaghetti Sauce

My great grandmother was Italian, and she had the best spaghetti sauce recipe in the world! It is rather sweet and popping with flavor! My grandma also used that family recipe, my mom has been making it for as long as I can remember, and I enjoy making it as well. For a recipe to have traveled four generations and still be going strong is proof of a good recipe!
Just to clarify, this is not my creation, but I thought since my family enjoyed it so much, I'd write it down for the world to use. This does take longer than just opening a jar of sauce and heating on the stove, but it's easy and well worth the extra bit of work!

Place a pot on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add the hamburger meat to the pot and gently tear the meat into small pieces.

 Once all the meat is nice and loose, pour the garlic powder evenly over the hamburger. Stir the garlic powder in, and stir the meat often to keep it from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Once the meat is thoroughly browned and cooked, drain any fat from the meat and then put the meat into a crockpot.

Add in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, and parmesan cheese. Stir all the ingredients together until well combined.

 

 Turn the crockpot on high and let it cook for seven hours, stirring it every few hours.

Yields enough to fill a seven quart crockpot
Ingredients:
4 lbs. thawed hamburger
1/2 and 1/8 C. garlic powder
1 6 lb. 9 oz. can tomato sauce
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1 C. sugar
1 C. parmesan cheese

Place a pot on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add the hamburger meat to the pot and gently tear the meat into small pieces. (I use a large fork and/or a Pampered Chef hamburger chopper.) Once all the meat is nice and loose, pour the garlic powder evenly over the hamburger. Stir the garlic powder in, and stir the meat often to keep it from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Once the meat is thoroughly browned and cooked, drain any fat from the meat and then put the meat into a crockpot. (This recipe fills a seven quart crockpot, but I used an eight and a half quart crockpot.) Add in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, and parmesan cheese. Stir all the ingredients together until well combined. Turn the crockpot on high and let it cook for seven hours, stirring it every few hours.

This spaghetti sauce is now ready to be served! You can serve it right out of the crockpot, or freeze it and use it another day. While it tastes fabulous fresh, I find that it tastes even better the longer it sits; it's one of those things that improves with time.