Roasted Veggie Pasta Sauce

In the last post I showed you all the awesome fruits and vegetables I scored from Bountiful Baskets recently. And even though there are 7 of us it takes a little work to intentionally use through that big of a bounty before it goes bad. Some of the ways I remedied that was by cutting up fruit that would be good in our smoothies and putting it into the freezer. Not only do I have it on hand for future use but I don't have to bother with ice in my smoothie....double duty! I wanted to be able to freeze up something with a portion of the vegetables that were still hanging around so I decided to roast them up and turn them into a big batch of pasta sauce.

I sliced up two containers of heirloom tomatoes, some green pepper, yellow squash, and zucchini and put them on a roasting pan. In a mixing bowl I put chopped onion and garlic, fresh rosemary and basil, salt and pepper to taste, a touch of roasted red peppers for heat and about 1/3 cup of olive oil. I whisked all of that together and poured it over the veggies, tossing to makes sure and cover them all.

I then popped them in a 375 degree oven for about an hour. Once done I let them cool before sliding them into my blender. I also threw in some pureed butternut squash I had in the freezer (after letting it defrost) just for a little more vegetable, not to mention I like the added sweetness it brings. Gave it all a whirl until it was well blended. After that I separated it into mason jars. The two on the left went in the freezer once they cooled. Make sure that when freezing in mason jars you get the straight ones with no neck because they are less likely to crack when the food expands. And because it expands when it freezes, don't fill it all the way to the top. The jar on the right went in the fridge and I poured it over baked chicken parmesan that night.

You can play with this recipe depending on whatever you have on hand. The recipe I loosely followed only used tomatoes but I didn't have enough to make a sufficient amount of sauce and I like the different flavor that comes from using a variety of vegetables. If you don't have fresh herbs on hand, dried work just fine and you can adjust depending on what you like. If you are going to use some of the sauce right away it will be cooled down from blending so just warm it back up in a sauce pan. Same goes for using the frozen stuff, defrost in the fridge the day you are using it and then warm it up to put on top of pasta or chicken or dump it right in with something that is going to bake in the oven. I can't wait to use the other two jars - what recipe would you incorporate them into?

Bountiful Basket

One of the best ways for me to stay full and satisfied without adding up the calories is to load up on healthy fruits and vegetables. To keep things from getting boring, I love to have a variety and continue to try new things. It is also important for me not to break the bank as we are on a limited food budget. One of my favorite times of year is the warmer months and one of the reasons I love it is because the farmers markets open up. Such a great way to buy locally grown food at a decent price while supporting small farm/business owners. But what to do in the off season?

Years ago we were introduced to Bountiful Baskets which is a Food Co-Op run by volunteers. We have had different seasons of regularly ordering and then not, but always come back to it. It's a great price for a variety of healthy stuff and they continue to add to what they offer. Besides the regular basket (which is $15 for local, in season, quality produce usually including 6 fruits and 6 vegetables that are used in most households or a $10 upgrade for organic), they always offer extra add-ons as well. Everything from bread to large quantities of one fruit for canning, to holiday packs. It's always fun to see what they are offering and the price never disappoints.

My most favorite thing about this program is that you pick and choose week to week whether or not to purchase. We have done a CSA in the past and you were obligated to weeks or months of ordering and the variety (at least in our particular CSA) was severely lacking. Not to mention that if something came up, you had to find a way to take care of your order. My husband works rotating shifts so I don't always want to drag five kids early in the morning to pick up produce. With Bountiful Basket I can look at our schedule for that week (and how much produce we already have left) and decide to partake or skip it.

Luckily, I have stayed on the email list so even though I hadn't bought for over 2 years, I am still kept in the loop. So when the reminder to order popped up in my inbox two weeks ago I jumped on the opportunity to get back to Bountiful Baskets. And I'm so glad I did. Here's what I got:

This is what a regular size basket looks like - nearly fills our 40 qt cooler. Everything from bananas, heirloom tomatoes, apples, oranges, lettuce, beets, etc. So much for $15! (Cute assistants not included ;) )

This was an add on - the tropical pack with 3 vanilla beans, star fruit, fresh mint, oranges, coconut, pineapple, mango and a plantain. We all tried star fruit for the first time and loved it!

Tortilla pack - each pack has 10 ENORMOUS tortillas. The flavors are sundried tomato, spinach. chipotle with herbs, and chipotle.

This was a Easter pack - more heirloom potatoes, radishes, potatoes, celery, rosemary, asparagus, pineapple, garlic, and carrots.

All in all I think we spent a little over $50. And we are still eating through all of this. I am freezing some of it for smoothies and cooking up a storm with all of the variety. Love it! I highly encourage you to check out the website and see if this is available in your area. You won't be disappointed!

*This is not an endorsed review. I truly love and participate in Bountiful Baskets and am sharing my personal experience. I get to reimbursement for this post.*