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1. Boil the pasta, rinse and chill in the refrigerator.
2. Cook the chicken and then dice into chunks.
3. Dice the tomato and garlic pickles (or cucumbers).
   
4. In a large glass bowl, mix the tomato, pickles, and pasta with Italian dressing (probably 1/2 - 3/4 cup).  Use enough dressing to coat, toss, and refrigerate until chilled.
5. Enjoy!

Well I was reading Kristina's blog about how she made homemade spaghetti sauce from REAL tomatoes, not canned and decided that I would finally give it a try.  She admits that she's a recovering microwave mom and I'd definitely say that I am too!  Nonetheless with a Kristina and VegieMama's encouragement, I went for it.

We planted our tomato plants right by our side door in hopes that we'd remember to water them more often if we had to walk by them and the hose every day.  I was pretty impressed with how our tomatoes were growing and ripening beautifully.  I sent the boys out there with a basket and was so proud when they came back with it overflowing with tomatoes - Roma, Better Boy and ummm another kind. 

Well obviously I hadn't paid enough attention to Kristina's comment about how many tomatoes it takes to make spaghetti sauce.  I even went out and bought some jars because I just knew that it was going to make so much that I'd need to can some.  I looked all over the internet for instructions on how to make homemade spaghetti sauce and got some handy dandy tips, but I ended up combining the recipes and kind of doing my own thing.

• First I dipped the tomatoes (a few at a time) in boiling water for about a minute.  After that I put them into cold water and the skins came right off.  Then I had to discard the seeds and dice the tomatoes. 
• Next I diced two cloves of garlic and some basil and sauteed them in olive oil.
• Then I put the tomatoes and seasonings into my Vita Mix Food Processor and let it work it's magic. 
• When I put it into a pot to cook on the stove, it was too runny so I resorted to the prepackaged spaghetti sauce seasoning packet.  I read online that I could have just added corn starch, but after all that work I didn't want to risk messing it up.  So there went my organic sauce!
• Nonetheless after it had boiled and simmered for awhile, the kitchen was smelling YUMMY.  I was almost afraid to taste it after all that hard work.

Fortunately Tony & the boys are brave and it got rave reviews.  I had been reading alot about the benefits of adding garlic to our diets so I felt pretty good about that part of it too.  I can definitely see why someone would want to make a whole bunch of it in one day and then can it and why they would need 50 tomato plants!  It was a pretty messy and time consuming process, but it felt good to get in touch with my inner "organic homesteader" self.  LOL.

My husband is a sales rep for a food distribution company  - anything you need in bulk - he's your man!  Fortunately he also gets some good recipes from the restaurants.  This quick cobbler is the staple dessert for one of his catering customers and is always a hit with everyone and so easy to make!  If I can do it - anyone can!

Quick Cobbler

Fresh or canned fruit (the more the better)

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

4 Tablespoons butter

First mix the dry ingredients. 

After thoroughly mixing them, add the cup of milk & stir.

Then add the fruit & mix again.  (If you are using canned fruit, drain most of the juice.)

Melt the butter to coat the bottom & sides of a 9 x 13 glass dish.

Pour the cobbler mixture into the dish.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until brown. 

It's really yummy!  Enjoy!!