This post is brought to you by Pennington Vertical Gardening Systems. All opinions are my own.
I know I might have mentioned it before, but we live in a condo versus a traditional house. This arrangement works really well for my family and there haven't been many downsides ... with the exception of not being able to have my own garden. Well, that's about to change! Soon I will have my very own vertical garden and I couldn't be happier. I'll have an update in a week or two with my experience setting up my Pennington Vertical Gardening System as well as photos of my new plants! ...Can you tell I'm just a little excited about growing fresh baby tomatoes, hot peppers, and basil!?
About the Pennington Vertical Gardening System
The Pennington Vertical Gardening System allows any gardener – novice or experienced – living in the sprawling suburbs or crowded city to turn even the most lackluster of spaces in to a colorful, blooming garden. Each system is completely customizable with each component sold separately to adapt to any style.
Structural pieces have been tested for weather and weight durability. The core foundational pieces work together and stay consistent from year to year.
As you can see, the Pennington System can be customized in a variety of ways and can be used indoors or outdoors on drywall, wood or masonry facades, including brick, stone or stucco. The Pennington Vertical Garden System and accessories can be purchased at The Home Depot in select stores across Arizona, California, Georgia and Florida. To get updates on Pennington Vertical Gardening products, promotions and offers, visit their website: http://www.penningtongarden.com.
Homemade Marinara Sauce with Fresh Basil
A few years ago I set out to make my own marinara sauce for homemade pizza and pasta dishes. I didn't like all of the ingredients, including added sugar, that jarred sauces had and I thought it would be easy enough to make my own. I was right. Making marinara sauce from scratch is super easy. Plus, once you taste homemade you won't want to go back to the jar!
- 1 28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes I prefer Tuttorosso
- 1/3 Cup Diced Onion
- 2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
- 1 Handful Fresh Basil Chopped
- 2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- Oregano Salt & Pepper (to taste)
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In a large skillet set at medium-high, saute 1/3 cup diced onion and 2 Tablespoons minced garlic in 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Add in a handful chopped fresh basil leaves, stir and let cook for a few minutes, until onions are translucent.
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Turn heat down to medium-low and add 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and oregano to taste.
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Stir in another 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil and let simmer on low for a minimum of 20 minutes.
I've made this recipe dozens of times, both with and without the fresh basil, and it's the basil that truly makes the sauce. I hope to grow an endless supply of basil, and maybe even some baby tomatoes, in my new Pennington Vertical Gardening System.
Pennington Vertical Gardens partnered with bloggers such as me to help educate us all about their Pennington Vertical Gardening System products. As part of this program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the use of the products. Pennington Vertical Gardens believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Pennington Vertical Garden’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. A winner will be chosen by random and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.
Ann Fantom
I like to make my own tomato sauce using our home grown tomatoes
Suzanne M
We love using our veggies and herbs to spice up turkey burgers!
Angela Kinder
We love making our own Smoked Salmon Dip recipe we saw in a book years ago. It is absolutely delicious!
Michelle Fosnaugh
We used our home grown herbs (Basil and Thyme) For our spaghetti sauce!
Melissa B.
I love to make potato soup and add green onions from the flower pot on my back porch.
Heather Hayes Panjon
I Enjoy Making Chili With Fresh Tomato, Peppers, And Onion
Rich Morris
i like tomatoes in my salad and stuffed peppers
kim
I love fresh salsa fresco with fresh tomatoes, cilantro, onions etc I am getting hungry just writing this
Tari Lawson
I like making a tomato and basil salad with fresh mozzarella.
Margaret Smith
My family and I like a 3 bean salad, using the beans and herbs that we grow.
Mary Happymommy
I like chili with fresh tomatoes.
Wild Orchid
I love making homemade salsa with homegrown jalepenos and tomatoes! Entered the rafflecopter as "Wild orchid"
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
Janet W.
We love to make tacos with the tomatoes from our garden!
April Yedinak
My favorite garden recipe is stuffed peppers. I always seem to be able to grow a ton of peppers, tomatoes and zucchini.
Nancy
I like to slow roast a turkey breast rubbed with rosemary, thyme and tarragon and I tuck a couple of onions inside the turkey body cavity.
Jennifer Marie
Mome made Sphagetti sauce!
Jennifer Marie
home made 🙂
Lisa Brown
we make tons of spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes we grow every year
Kimberly Ripley
I like to make a stir-fry.
courtney b
i like homemade salsa
Elena
I like to make soup
Jessica To
I like to use the new potatoes from my garden and cook them with our green beans.
Wendy Owen
My main reason for growing cucumbers if for the cucumber salad, I could eat it all day every day. It's delicious
Adrienne Gordon
caprese salad with fresh basil
Gloria S
I like stew made with my veggies and herbs
Jason Crooks
We like to make cold veggie pizza with the carrots, cucumbers, and other veggies from our garden.
Rosie
I made homemade crackers with chopped herbs from the garden. I made different varieties of crackers, and tried different herbs. They were fantastic! It was a great way to use the herbs. I used basil, thyme, tarragon, lemon thyme. For the crackers, I used whole grain flours mixed with some unbleached flour, sea salt, pepper, and black and white sesame seeds, quality oil and/or butter. You can roll it right onto a lightly oiled or buttered cookie sheet, then use a cutter (I like the wavy edge cutters), to separate them into squares. I have baked them at different temperatures, too. It is amazingly easy to make crackers, and herb crackers with herbs from the garden are a big hit. I like to have bunches of herbs tied and drying in the kitchen, it all adds to the ambiance! (I've also made homemade pasta with semolina using fresh herbs rolled into the dough - great esp for ravioli!)
kim h
I make home made salsa with my veggies I grow
Danielle Day
fresh fruit
Wendi w
Spaghetti and stuffed sweet peppers
Sarah L
Simple: Fresh basil on fresh tomato with mozzarella cheese
Thanks for the contest.
Suzanne K
I make a veggie stir fry a lot! Whatever happens to be ripe can pretty much be thrown in, especially cut up zucchini, squash, etc.
lisa lo
I grew Jalapenos and added them to just about everything I made.
Mary Cloud
I like to grow my own okra and make a big pot of okra and tomatoes
annabella @ centurytel dot net
Katherine
I make my own salsa
Cynthia C
I like making soups and sauces.
Kathleen
salsa from fresh tomatoes
kport207 at gmail dot com
Barbara Montag
I love steamed green beans with mushrooms and garlic - thank you.
Rachel Travis
I love to use fresh cilantro in salsa 🙂
Tabathia B
I like making homemade pizza using the fresh tomatos and basil that I grow
STEPHEN
Pasta sauce with oregano
janna johnson
Peppers and mushrooms with basil and parsley.
HilLesha
I love incorporating heirloom tomatoes in recipes, especially casseroles.
Rebecca Graham
I like making soup with our home grown vegetables.
Tracy Robertson
I don't have a garden since I live in an apartment, but I would love to try and grow some herbs in the kitchen.
stephanie
i like to make tomatoes sauce
Rea Liz
I love making homemade vegetable soup!
Scott Martin
I like my salmon with fresh dill recipe.
Amanda Sakovitz
I love making veggie soup!
Pat B
I love making BLTs with homegrown tomatoes
Thomas Murphy
I like to make tomato sauce.
amy pugmire
we love to make homemade salsa
meredith
I make a yummy basil pesto
Jessie Cho
I like making zucchini bread
Denise S
I like making homemade spaghetti sauce with herbs.
ellen casper
I love using meatballs with my herbs
Christina Sparks
I like to use them in my spaghetti sauce
Tarah
Fresh chili sauce to put over meatloaf!
LyndaS
I'd love to have one of those gardening systems - it's so cool.
Nataly Carbonell
I like making shrimp scampi or spaghetti
Mary Somerville
I use homegrown basil, garlic, onions,tomatoes, and dried cayenne peppers in Pasta Pomodoro.
Mary Calabrese
I like making salsa with fresh cilantro.
Monique Rizzo
I like making a fresh potato soup.
Thanks for the chance.
[email protected]
Ellie W
I love making homemade salsa with tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions from my garden.
Tara
I like to make lasagna with fresh herbs!
Christine
spaghetti sauce
Tamar
I like making watermelon feta salad with freshly grown mint.
Carolsue
Chicken Cacciatore is my favorite recipe using a lot of herbs
Paula Michele Hafner
I like making fresh pizza/spaghetti sauce.
melissa Resnick
fresh salsa
Heather K
I love fresh tomatoes on sandwiches.
Daniel M
tomatoes & cucumbers in salads and sandwiches
joseph gersch
tilapia and cilantro
Eileen Burke
I love Caprese Salad with fresh basil.
Susan Smith
I like making vegetable soup with my home grown vegetables.
Nicole C.
I love making canned kosher pickles and salsa.
Ben G
I like to make a salad with the items from the garden.
Deb C
My favorite is simply my own Heirloom Tomatoes sliced onto white bread with crispy bacon strips and Duke's Mayonnaise.
Becky
I wish I could grow something fresh in my garden (other than weeds -- because they grow really grow well).....but I love to put fresh herbs in my marinara sauce. 🙂
Francine Anchondo
in my chill
angela cisco
We use tomatoes, peppers and onions to make homewade chili
Jeccica Simpson
Homeade salsa, tomatos, cilantro, and garlic yummo!
Brooke R.
We love to make home made salsa!
Stephanie Larison
Our fave is veggie soup
Katt Lewis
Fried zucchini squash
Jill Myrick
I love making homemade salsa using tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro that I have grown in my garden over the summer.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
cathy m
my favorite recipe would be chili - with all the good spices in it!
tallcapp
I make a great tomato, basil spaghetti with my home grown basil.
Rebecca Peters
I love to make a salad with our garden veggies
Debra Hall
my favorite is veggie soup
Terry Cross
I don't have a garden but I love using the tomato juice my other-in-law makes from hers in vegetable soup
kim kihega
I like to make homemade chili with my tomatoes and peppers.
harolde
I love to make baked potato fries from my potatoes that I grow.
Rebecca Lock
I like making spaghetti sauce and pesto.
Brittney House
I like making homemade pasta sauces.
Cassandra Eastman
I love making chicken stir fry with bell pepper and jalapeno!
Iliana Blair
salsa from fresh tomatoes
Shannon
I like fresh squash.
Roxann
I love to use garden vegetables in my beef stew.
Paul K
For my meatballs.
Sharon
I can never get enough home grown yellow squash, slow cooked with onion and garlic, or fresh tomatoes for salsa and tomato sandwiches!
Rose Fisher
I make a bow tie pasta salad that I make my own vinegar based dressing for and use cucumbers and onions and even tomatoes and onions.
Courtnie Miller
I like lasagna!
jules m.
i make bruschetta using basil from the garden. its soooo good and everyone begs me to make more
Kyl Neusch
make potato soup
Mihaela Day
I love using our veggies and herbs to make soups: tomato soup, chicken or beef 🙂
Donna Pyszk
I like making BLT's with tomatoes from our garden
susan smoaks
i like the herb encrusted chicken that i make
Bryan E.
Thanks for the giveaway…we use cilantro, tomatoes, green bell & jalapeno peppers from our garden to make homemade pico de gallo for our tex-mex dishes.
Nicole Millheim
I love to spice up My Korean chicken
Vikki Billings
I like making veggie soup with veggies from my garden
Samantha
I love making homemade soup and a veggie pasta salad!
Beverly Metcalf
I like to make my own spaghetti sauce from vine ripened tomatoes and fresh herbs from the garden. Thanks for this contest.
Breanne
Tomato sauce
laurie
I love making chili with garden tomattoes
Sand
I love to make homemade pizza with fresh herbs.
AEKZ2
I like making salsa
Heather S
I like making potato soup
Penelope (NYC Blogger)
That vertical gardening system is GORGEOUS and I know just the spot I could put one.
Iliana Blair
THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!!!
Elite Horticulture
Hi there, Great tips by the way and thank you. I did have a question though.
I'm hoping you can answer it for me since you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about gardening.
In a garden, how can you kill unwanted plants (e.g.
weeds) without hurting other plants? I have a number of weeds growing in my garden beds right now...
If you had some insight I would greatly appreciate it.
Hayley
Wow, Stefanie, that garden wall looks so good, I want to have one at home! I grow some herbs by my own in my little garden and I love to cook with fresh herbs! It`s more delicious!