Ah, my favorite summer staples: fresh tomatoes and fresh basil. My favorite summer meal incorporating them? Marinara sauce over spaghetti noodles. It does double duty; it tastes delicious and fresh, but it's kid-friendly too. Can't beat it!
Put a good dash of olive oil in sauté pan and throw in one, large diced onion, a couple cloves of minced garlic and some kosher salt. Keep the heat low and cook until onions are soft. Add one pound ground beef, crank the heat up a bit (medium-high should do it) and brown the meat. You can drain the fat after it's browned, if you like. The add your fresh tomatoes; three to four extra-large ones; more if they're smaller (or two 14.5 oz. cans), one 6 oz. can tomato paste, one 8 oz. can tomato sauce and a ton of fresh, finely chopped basil (honestly, I have no idea how much I use; I just chop it, add it, taste and repeat as necessary). At this point I also add some water; usually I just fill up my tomato sauce can and add that. Seems to do the trick. I also some more salt as needed at this point. Simmer for at least an hour uncovered and then enjoy.
Also, this freezes really well and, best of all, can easily be made early in the day before the kids start acting like lunatics, refrigerated and heated up at mealtime.
