Marinara Sauce- My way....

I'm not sure if it is obvious from previous posts but Ben and I LOVE Italian food.  We love garlic bread (too much I'm afraid) pasta, pesto, marinara, pizzas, you name it! So I thought it would be fitting to share my homemade Marinara sauce that evolved, in the beginning, as a sauce filled with things I already had in my regridgerator/pantry and is now our go-to meal whenever we need to go to the store but cannot muster up the energy.  I always seem to have the makings for something pasta related around (because as far as I know pasta noodles do not expire right??), and this past Saturday was no different.  For this recipe you can substitute, for whatever you have laying around, I definitely deviated from the regular recipe in order to use up my red onion for example, and my leftover spaghetti squash, the already opened bottle of pinot grigio, and the stale bread from the night before....feel free to make substitutions wherever you see fit!!  Also, as a side note, Ben is taking the BAR today-Thursday, good luck Ben!!

Gather up the ingredients.....

Start with your saute pan on medium high heat with 2tbs of olive oil.  Add one diced medium onion (doesn't matter the color, although I'm sure real Italians would disagree) and I used 7 cloves of chopped garlic b/c we LOVE garlic....if you don't three is probably good.....

I forgot a few pictures but before you add the wine......Add 1tsp salt, 1/2tsp of crushed red pepper, and 1/2tsp oregano.....let all saute for approx 5 minutes.  Then, deglaze the pan with 1/2cup of a dry wine (should help all the bits at the bottom to unstick). I had white so that's what I used but red would work too. (Wines that would NOT work would be, moscato, reisling, blush...anything that is sweet)  ***If you would rather not use wine, broth works just as well.

Next rule of thumb when adding alcohol to a recipe, don't add anything you would not want to drink in a glass.....I love pinot grigio...Cheers!

Next add one small (6 ounces I believe) of tomato paste...and stir into the mixture.  Then add one Large 28 ounce can of tomato sauce, I use the organic chunky tomato sauce.

Next add 1 1/2c Vegetable broth plus 1c of Water....the longer the sauce simmers the thicker it will become, so if you simmer for longer than 45 minutes you may need to add more water or broth.  I also use the combination of broth and water because sometimes, broth can add too much salt.

After you let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes and check your seasonings. Depending on the sodium in your tomato sauce, paste and broth, you may need to add more salt.  I added an additional 1/2tsp of garlic salt.

 Now chop your fresh basil--this is how you chiffonade basil.  Put the leaves one on top of the other and roll into a log type shape, then cut with your knife and you get nice chiffonade or ribbons of basil!

At the end of your simmer process, approx 30-45 minutes, add your fresh basil and let simmer another 5 minutes.

 While it is simmering, cook your pasta! I add a tablespoon of olive oil to my water to keep the pasta from sticking together.

And always a generous portion of salt approx 1-2TBS

Serve with garlic bread (sliced french bread brushed with olive oil and garlic salt, bake in oven at 350 for about 6 minutes)  **also notice, I am using the leftover spinach linguine from my Cilantro Pesto and Spinach Linguine post.....

And as usual, to save on calories I used spaghetti Squash.....

I save the calories on the pasta so that at the end of the evening I can do this with the leftover bread....dang why can't they make "bread squash" too....???

Marinara Sauce

2tbs olive oil

1 medium sized onion diced

7 cloves of garlic diced

1tsp salt

1/2tsp garlic salt

1/2tsp crushed red pepper

1/2tsp oregano

1/2c wine or broth

1 6ounce can of tomato paste

1 28 ounce can of tomato sauce

1 1/2c vegetable broth

1c water

1/2c fresh chopped basil

Preheat your pan with olive oil at a medium high heat.  Add onions and garlic and let saute for approx 5 minutes.  Next add salt, garlic salt, red pepper, and oregano and let saute for another five minutes.  Now deglaze the pan with wine or broth and let alcohol cook off for approx 3 minutes.  Now add your tomato paste and stir in so there are no clumps. Now add your tomato sauce, broth and water.  After it simmers for approx 30 minutes check for seasonings and add your fresh basil.  Serve with your favorite pasta and bread! Enjoy! 

Emily's Dip-Alicious

First of all I must apologize for being a terrible blogger! The Summer has been surprisingly busy and lately the only home cooked meals have been at my parents house for our "Monday Night Dinner"!!!! Second of all, I have to mention that Ben takes the BAR one week from TODAY, wow, time flies!  If you are so inclined, I ask that you all send ben your prayers, good karma, energy and love his way as he struggles through this final week!  So now, let's talk food! Today's delicious recipe comes via one of my BFF's Emily Gill! This is a dip she is practically famous for, so I decided to re-create it for my own enjoyment.  The other thing about the dip that makes it so dip-alicious is that you can use it as a topping for salads, baked potatoes (or meat) so it can serve more puropses than just eating it with a tortilla chip...why does everything taste better on a tortilla chip (especially the hint of lime ones....is that just me??)!?  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do and as much as everyone Gill makes it for!!  My waistline may not be thankful, but I certainly am! Yum Yum Yum! Enjoy!

Your ingredients (plus cilantro.....I forgot it until the end)

 two cans of drained black beans.....

 one can of drained shoepeg corn

 one can of drained original rotel, and two diced haus avocados.....

 lemon pepper seasoning (about 1tsp)

 one small bottle of zesty italian dressing or what I used, 3/4 bottle of LIGHT zesty italian (the bottles are different sizes)

 handful of chopped fresh cilantro

and hint of lime chips! ;) or regular

Emily's Dip-Alicious

2 cans drained black beans

1 small drained can of shoe-peg corn

1 can drained original rotel

2 diced avocados

1 handful (approx 1/3c) fresh cilantro

1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

3/4 regular sized bottle of light zesty italian dressing OR 1 small bottle of Zesty Italian

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and Serve with chips or also as.....toppings for salads, baked potatoes, meat, or anything else you desire!!! Enjoy!!

**Thanks to Emily for letting me share the dip!

Won't Make You "Chunky Potato Salad"

My grandmother Goggie (Mary Alice) is the most wonderful cook! She has so many "signature" dishes that everyone loves such as her cornbread dressing, marinated vegetables etc. etc. and there are some foods of hers that I have been eating for so long that I cannot imagine certain holidays without them. One in particular is her famous Potato Salad. We eat it on more than just holidays but Easter, in particular, is one time that we always have it along with an Easter ham.  This past Easter, though, I was a vegan, so I had no ham, no deviled eggs, and sadly, no potato salad.  I'm not sure why it did not dawn on me to revamp the recipe for myself until this past father's day when my mom was making it for my dad.  I asked her to reserve some of the boiled potatoes for me so I could make mine sans the milk and mayo and what do ya know, it actually turned out pretty good.  I decided to make it again at my house using my Soy Milk and Vegenaise, so whenever you see these two ingredients you can substitute milk and mayo.  Goggie also uses chopped egg and a pat of butter in hers so feel free to try it this way if you desire, but using low fat or fat free milk, reduced fat mayo, and no butter will make this the won't make you "chunky potato salad". Get it?? So here it goes!!

Ingredients.......

Chop your potatoes, I used about 8 medium sized baking potatoes (Goggie peels hers first but I am lazy so I keep the skins on).....

 Then add them to your boiling water and boil until fork tender......

 While they boil, chop small dill pickles into a small dice......

 Once your potatoes are cooked, put in a bowl and add 1/2c of Milk......(you may need alittle more if your potatoes seem too dry)

 Next add your mustard, around 1/3 a cup.....

 Now your mayo, 1/3c....

 Then mash your potatoes with a potato masher (goggie uses a mixer to blend hers smoothe, I made mine Chunky)

 Now add a small can of pimentos and your chopped pickles (i used about 1/2c of chopped pickles, you can use as many or as little veggies as you like) Now is also the time to salt and pepper to taste, depending on the saltyness of your mustard and mayo, so adjust your seasonings to taste.

 Now serve with your favorite BBQ!! We are ours with BBQ Veggie Kabobs and Brown Rice! And it actually was for a holiday, our anniversary dinner!! :) But feel free to make it on any ole night of the week!



Goggie's Potato Salad

8 med. sized baking potatoes washed and chopped

1/2c Milk or Soy Milk

1/3c mustard

1/3c Mayo

1/2c chopped dill pickles (a relish would work too)

1 small can of pimentos

salt and pepper to taste

optional: butter, boiled egg, or any veggies you like

Fill a large pot with salted boiling water. Once water is boiling, add the potatoes and boil until fork tender.  Put potatoes in a mixing bowl, add the milk, mustard, and mayo and mash with a potatoe masher.  Next add pickles and pimentos and salt and pepper to taste, mix and serve!!