Tomato Sauce

Last time I went to the garden, about half the tomatoes I picked were split. Those heirlooms are especially  prone to cracking. I turned those ones into tomato sauce, using a recipe I found in Urban Homesteading.

It's clear that this was made primarily with yellow tomatoes.

Chunky Tomato Sauce


8 lg. or 10-12 small tomatoes
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/4-1/2 c. minced onion
4 garlic cloves, diced.
1/2 c. fresh mushrooms
1/4 c. fresh basil
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning.


Mash tomatoes, drain off half of the liquid. Saute onion in oil till translucent; add garlic. Add tomatoes & stir. Add mushrooms and seasonings. Cover & reduce heat till barely bubbling. Simmer as long as you want. 

I made two jars. With one, I made the mistake of not leaving enough room at the top for expansion, and it broke the jar when I put it in the freezer. You live, you learn. Interesting enough, when I went to open the smaller jar, it had sealed itself in the canning jar with no effort on my part--probably just because the contents were hot when I added them to the jar, it sucked the lid on tight!