Noodles with Romas and Bacon

A while back I wrote about freezing roma tomatoes. It's incredibly easy... drop freshly picked romas into boiling water for about a minute until their skins crack. Transfer romas to ice cold water to cool. Peel the skins off. Place romas on a baking sheet lined with freezer paper and put into the freezer. Once frozen, transfer romas into a large re-sealable plastic freezer bag and return them to the freezer... until you are ready to thaw them for something like this! To make this simple dish, first roughly chop thawed romas and then drain them. (Thawed romas put off a good amount of liquid.) Set chopped romas aside. Next fry up some chopped bacon, and set it aside, too. Drain all but a spoonful of the bacon grease from the pan. Finely mince some garlic and drop into pan. Saute minced garlic for just a minute or so, and then add chopped, drained romas to the pan. Sprinkle some dried Italian spices into tomatoes. I keep a little jar of dried parsley, basil, oregano, and thyme, and I call it "Italian Seasonings." I use this mix quite often. Stir tomatoes in skillet for a few minutes until they cook down to desired consistency. I usually add salt, pepper, and just a pinch of sugar. Toss with cooked homemade noodles. Top with bacon and shredded Parmesan cheese when serving.This meal is so simple, you really don't need a recipe... but here's a guideline...

NOODLES WITH ROMAS AND BACON

5-6 slices of bacon, cut into pieces
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
8-10 frozen romas, thawed, chopped, and drained (or substitute a quart of home canned tomatoes, drained)
dried Italian seasonings such as parsley, oregano, basil, and thyme, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch of sugar
3-4 cups of dry noodles, cooked in salted water (proper amount of noodles may vary when using homemade noodles, use your best judgement)
shredded Parmesan cheese

Fry chopped bacon until crispy, remove from pan and set aside. Drain off all but one tablespoon of bacon grease. Add minced garlic. Saute over very low heat for about one minute. Add thawed, chopped, drained romas (or a quart of tomatoes, drained). Add spices. Stir for a few minutes until mixture cooks down to desired consistency. Toss with cooked noodles. Top with bacon and shredded Parmesan cheese when serving. This amount will feed two people. I like to serve this with a crispy fresh salad and warm buttered bread.