Homemade Marinara Sauce - The Second Part of the Tomato Bounty

After making enough pizza sauce to last until next spring, I had several of my father's tomatoes left.  However, they were not enough to make a big pot of marinara sauce.  So I headed to one of our local farms  (William Bos Greenhouse & Farm) to buy some more tomatoes.  To my delight they had some beautiful, red, ripe Roma tomatoes so I grabbed myself a peck and made plans to spend the day making sauce.

What type of sauce?  Marinara Sauce.  Yum!

I started with this recipe from Allrecipes.com.  However, because I always like to change things up, I made several changes that are reflected in the recipe below.  The number of cups is approximate because I just estimated 3 Roma tomatoes equaled 1 cup.  After seeing how much it filled the pot, I think that estimate may have been a bit high.

With this basic marinara sauce, you can mix it up any way you want later.  Add ground beef or turkey, fresh basil, mushrooms, whatever strikes your fancy. 

Homemade Marinara Sauce
(Note:  This makes a very large pot of sauce, enough to fill 3 quart freezer bags)
Ingredients
9-12 cups fresh tomatoes, peeled and run through the food processor to remove chunks
12 oz tomato paste
4 Tbs Italian herb blend
1 Tbs salt
1/2 onion
1 green pepper
1 head garlic
4 Tbs olive oil
3/4 c red wine

Directions
In a food processor, mince onion, garlic and green pepper
Add olive oil
Hat a large Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot
Place olive oil, onion, green pepper and garlic mixture into the pot
Saute until soft
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, red wine and Italian herbs.
Mix to combine thoroughly.
Turn down heat to low.
Simmer for at least an hour.
Cool and place in quart freezer bags.
Freeze for future use.

Stove Top Taco Pasta

(Photo is not particularly attractive , but I can guarantee, it tastes better than it looks)

I love Mexican food. OK, maybe not real Mexican food but the kind that most Americans grow up with. You know what I am talking about; tacos, fajitas, tortilla chips with salsa. I also love pasta. Mac and cheese, pesto with fusilli, creamy tomato with penne. Yum.

So it only figures that I am a huge fan of this dish - Stove Top Taco Pasta. It is a spin off of the Taco Bake which requires baking in the oven and takes much longer to prepare. This version is so easy and with only 5 ingredients, pulls together quickly for a filling meal.

I hope you like it as much as we do.

Stove Top Taco Pasta
(Source: Variation of the Taco Bake)
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/4 c taco seasoning
3/4 c water
1 pkg low fat cream cheese (8 oz)
1 box pasta (we used medium shells)
optional: cheese of your choice to sprinkle on top (we used mozzarella since that is all we had)

Directions
Brown ground beef in a large dutch oven.
Combine taco seasoning and water.
Pour taco seasoned water over browned meat, stirring to ensure all meat is covered.
Simmer to reduce amount of liquid (approximately 5-10 minutes) on low.
Once reduced, add cubed cream cheese, stirring to incorporate fully.
Prepare pasta according to directions and drain.
Add drained pasta to dutch oven, stirring to coat completely.

Creamy Parmesean Orzo - Ah, the cheesy goodness!!

This has become one of our favorite side dishes (don't judge the dish by the bad photo above). Before making this dish for the first time, I had never experienced the delicious joys of orzo. I mean, the dish has pasta, chicken stock and cheese. How could one not absolutely love it.

The best part is that you can substitute vegetable stock for those who are vegetarian or those who keep kosher. I can also say with some certainty that we will be trying other variations like adding crumbled bacon or steamed veggies, different types of grated cheese, the possibilities are endless.

Creamy Parmesan Orzo
(Source: Cooks like a Champion)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup orzo
1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add orzo and cook three minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in broth and water; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Stir in cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.

Lasagna - Easier Than I Thought

I love pasta and cheese, so it took me a while to get over the shock when I realized that I had never actually made lasagna.

But I decided that I had to try to make a batch since it freezes so well so could be added to the "Make Ahead" list for when the kids are here for spring break and schedules/menu planning can go right out the window.

I searched my Google Reader for an easy recipe and found this recipe on the blog The Organized McTatty. The recipe, with her photos, made it look so easy.

I modified mine slightly since I wanted to make the dish in 2-8x8 pans so we could freeze one for later. This is why I cooked the noodles slightly so they could be cut with kitchen shears to fit the smaller pans. And I love cheese so upped those amounts. Plus, who doesn't like a bit more cheese.

Easy Lasagna

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
3 cups Mozzarella Cheese, divided
15 oz. Part Skim Ricotta Cheese (usually one large container)
3/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
2 Tablespoons Italian herb blend
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 jar spaghetti sauce (at least 24 oz.)
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cook noodles to al dente.

In a large skillet, brown the meat.

While the meat is cooking, in a large bowl combine 1 3/4 cup mozzarella, all the ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, the herbs and the egg until it is well blended. Set aside.

Once meat is brown, drain off the fat and return the meat to the skillet. Add in the spaghetti sauce.

Add the cup of water to empty sauce jar, close and shake well to get all the sauce out of the jar. Add water/sauce mixture to the skillet, stirring to mix completely.

Spread 1 cup meat sauce in the bottom of 9x13-inch baking dish; 3 of the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce, spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture onto the noodles and cover with 1 cup of the meat sauce.

Repeat this process twice. Top with the remaining noodles, sauce and cheeses.

Cover with foil.

BAKE for 1 hour, removing foil after 45 min.

Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve.

Orzo with Sausage, Chicken and Peppers

After making Crockpot Chicken earlier one week, we had leftover chicken. Not wanting to make our usual Chicken Quesedillas, I hit the Internet and started searching based on ingredients we already had in the pantry, fridge and freezer.

I found something that looked tasty on the Food Network website - Orzo with Sausage, Peppers and Tomatoes. I only needed to modify it to meet my picky eating for it to be perfect.

Orzo with Sausage, Chicken and Peppers
Modified from Food Network Recipe
Ingredients
1 red bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 pound orzo pasta
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
7 ounces (2 links) mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 to 3/4 cup cup shredded chicken
2 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried parsley
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
In a medium saucepan, over high heat boil chicken stock, water and salt. Once boiling, add Orzo and cook per directions. Making sure to stir occasionally. This takes about 8-10 minutes.

At the same time, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and peppers (cut into 1/4 inch strips) sauteing until peppers begin to soften. Remove peppers from heat and place in a large bowl, cover to keep warm.

In the same skillet, cook Italian sausage completely. Once the sausage is cooked, add the shredded chicken to warm through.

Add peppers and garlic back into the skillet along with the red peppers flakes, cooking for several minutes until all ingredients are warm.

Drain the Orzo.

Transfer the Orzo to the large bowl used for the peppers. Add the meat mixture to the Orzo along with the dried parsley, mozzarella cheese seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Add mozzarella cheese.

Mix ingredients well to combine all ingredients.

Serve while warm.

Turkey Spaghetti Pie - Holy Tasty Dish Batman!

I will often read a recipe and think it will be tasty and then the actual results are not quite as expected. What a disappointment. Do you have that same experience?

Well, do not dismay, this recipe is NOT one of those situations. The leftovers didn't even make it 24 hours before being consumed by Mr. Gooch and myself. To me that is the mark of a great recipe. (Please note: the photo above does not even begin to capture the tastiness of this dish).

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com after doing a search on my ingredients available in my pantry, fridge and freezer.

Turkey Spaghetti Pie

Source: allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 ounces uncooked spaghetti, broken in half (We used bow tie pasta)

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons sour cream (I used low fat)

1/2 pound ground turkey (I used a whole pound)

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 teaspoon butter or margarine (I used Smart Balance 50/50 spread)

1/3 cup tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a bowl, combine the egg, Parmesan cheese and pasta. Press pasta mixture onto the bottom and up sides of a greased shallow 2-cup baking dish or 7-in. pie plate. Spread with sour cream.

Crumble turkey into a skillet; add the pepper, onion and butter. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, garlic salt, oregano, salt and pepper. Spoon into spaghetti crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover edges loosely with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Basil Cream Sauce with Tortellini

With the demise of my herb garden, a bunch of basil and tortellini in the freezer, I had the makings of a meal.

Using my homemade pesto as the jumping off point, by adding only a few ingredients, I was able to make a delish basil cream sauce. It complimented the saltiness of the beef and prosciutto tortellini perfectly.

So easy and so tasty, I can't wait to make this one again.

Basil Cream Sauce
Ingredients (all amounts are guesstimated)
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves pressed garlic
1 Tablespoon Italian herbs
Pesto
Half and Half

Directions
In a skillet, place olive oil and pressed garlic.

Sweat the garlic over medium heat.

Add Italian herbs to garlic olive oil mixture.

Add at least 3 heaping tablespoons of pesto to skillet followed by a small amount of half and half (this amount is determined by how creamy you want the sauce).

Turn heat down to low and simmer ingredients together for able 5 minutes.

Serve over tortellini.

Variation on a (Taco Bake) Theme

Raves for the Taco Bake recipe has been floating around the What's Cooking board for a long time now. We made our own variation on the recipe based on the original found on Lindsay's Love Deliciousness blog and what we had in our cupboard. It was creamy and delicious and will definitely be added to the dinner rotation for the future.



The original recipe called for baking in a 9 x 13 inch pan. This was too large for just the two of us, so I split the recipe into two 8x8 inch pans. One for tonight and one for a future dinner.


The Taco Bake Variation


Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey
3 heaping tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning (from The Complete Tightwad Gazette)
16 oz. spaghetti sauce
8 oz. fusilli pasta
8 oz. package fat free cream cheese, softened in microwave
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz. shredded co-jack cheese


Directions
Brown ground turkey, drain if necessary.
Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, cook pasta according to directions. Drain.
Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in separate bowl.
Spray bottoms of two 8x8 pans.
Put pasta in bottom of pans.
Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta.
Spoon ground meat mixture over this.
Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.
Bake one pan @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Let cool 15 minutes before serving.


Cover the other pan with plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
Place in freezer for another night's dinner.
Remover from freezer and let thaw.
Bake per instructions above.