Nine Mile Canyon & Arches

Marinara Sauce

12 cups peeled and seeded fresh ripe tomatoes

2 large yellow or white onions, peeled and diced
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs dried herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc) mixed, total or Italian seasoning
salt and red pepper to taste

1. Bring one pot of water to boil. Throw tomatoes into the boiling water for 30 seconds.

 2. Place tomatoes into a bowl of cold water and you can already see how the peels start to come off.

 3. Remove the peels.

 4. Cut the tomato in half.

5. Squeeze all the seeds out into a separate bowl.

6. Place the tomatoes in a food processor and use the pulse button to crush the tomatoes. Don't entirely liquefy them, you want the sauce to be a bit chunky. Pour the crushed tomatoes into a large pot to cook on a medium heat.

7. Chop the onions.

 8. Heat up the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and cook slowly, on medium heat until they start to become clear and caramelize. Cooking brings out onions’ natural sweet flavoring. Add the garlic and dried herbs and cook for 5 minutes.

9. Add the onions to the tomatoes and continue cooking for 2 hours. Stir occasionally. When it cooks for that long, the tomato sauce thickens.

Freeze whatever you are not going to use.

P.S. Add mushrooms, ground beef or meatballs to the sauce for extra flavoring.

Covers for the chairs and pillows

My two terminator cats destroyed my old chair covers and I decided to make new ones.

Light Tomato Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber
3 tomatoes
1-1/2 tbs white distilled vinegar (5%)
1/8 c water
1/2 tbs sugar
salt and ground pepper to taste
dill weed (optional)

Low calorie salad that is so easy and fast side dish during the summer BBQs.

1. Peel the cucumber, then chop the cucumber and tomatoes into slices. Place the vegetables into a bowl and add salt, pepper and chopped dill weed.

 2. Mix water, vinegar and sugar in a separate container. Pour the liquid over tomato and cucumber slices.

3. Tastes the best if you let it marinade in the refrigeration for a little while.

Creamy Tomatillo Dip

20 medium tomatillos
1cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 jalapenos with the seeds and veins removed
1 habanero with the seeds and veins removed
1 bunch cilantro
1/2 tsp minced garlic
3 key limes
salt to taste


1. Husk the tomatillos and wash them. Place them in a saucepan with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 7 minutes until the tomatillos are tender and have changed their color. Drain the tomatillos and set them aside to cool.

2.  Take the hot peppers and remove the seeds and veins (these are the hottest parts of the pepper) using rubber gloves. If you want spicier flavor, you can leave the seeds in or add extra hot peppers. In our family we love the habanero flavored foods, but you can use other hot peppers in the dip like serrano chilies.

3. Now place everything in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Squeeze key lime juice into the mixture.
PS. I don't even stem the cilantro--everything goes in and gets finely blended.

4. If you have time, let the dip sit in a refrigerator for an hour or over night so it can thicken and flavors can blend. 

5. Eat it with chips or pour it over your enchiladas. Soooo yummy!