"Mama Saves the Day" Tomato Sauce

As of last Sunday, we'd been "snowed in" for almost a week.

The contents of my fridge and pantry were swiftly being consumed.

That night I was overcome with an intense desire to make a tomato-based sauce for some chicken breasts.

But I was out of every sort of stewed or diced tomatoes. 

And this is what my driveway looked like:

What's a girl to do? 

My mother's words from childhood, when I was desperately searching for a lost Barbie shoe, rang in my ears: "Ginny, did you look everywhere, really well?"

I had not!

Back in a dark corner of my pantry sat a quiet, humble Ball jar of tomatoes that my mom had canned this summer from her garden.

Mama saved the day!

"Mama Saves the Day" Pasta Sauce

serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves of garlic, halved

14.5 can tomatoes (stewed, diced, whole, or quartered will do)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Heat oil in skillet.  Saute garlic over medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add tomatoes and juice.  Add spices.  Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes to several hours, depending on how much time you have.  The longer the better.  Stir occasionally.

Of course, you can increase the yield of this recipe and freeze the sauce for future use.