Red (Pasta) Sauce

3 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes (No Salt Added Dei Fratelli brand)
1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste
4 cloves garlic
1 onion (sweet or Vidalia)
Salt
Pepper
Fresh basil
Olive oil

In a food processor, grate onion and garlic until "almost mush." Add olive oil to stock pot to come up about 1/4 inch up the side of the pan (or less). Saute garlic and onion in oil until translucent. Add tomato paste, rinsing can with about 1/3 of a can of water. Cook for about 15 minutes until the bright red paste turns to a dark brown-red color. Add crushed tomatoes, rinsing each can with aobut 1/3 of a can of water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low for several hours. Towards the end, add basil (torn or chifenade).

*After adding crushed tomatoes, I cooked for about 2 1/2 hours, then added the basil and cooked for another 15-30 minutes.

Easy Pain au Chocolat

I sure miss the real pain au chocolat that I had in France. I've tried making an easy version of them before, but there was something missing. I used a recipe from La Fuji Mama, but made them a wee bit smaller so they are bite-sized. They turned out so yummy! This is an easy version that is good, but still nothing like the real thing! Sometime I'll have to try making them from scratch! Anyway, here's the easy version.

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
Semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1 egg, beaten with 2 T. water
Sugar in the Raw (or other coarse sugar)

Directions:

Unroll crescent rolls, pinching the seams to make 4 rectanges out of the 8 triangles. Cut each rectangle into a square. You should have 8 squares. Next cut each square in half to form 16 small rectangles.

Brush rectangle with the egg wash. Place chocolate squares along 1 short edge of crescent dough. Roll up so the chocolate is in the center. Place on a silpat or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush with more egg wash and sprinkle with Sugar in the Raw.

Bake according to crescent roll package.

Enjoy!

Makes 16.