Basic Marinara Sauce

Good-Bye, Ragu, Hello home-made sauce! I can remember my mom teaching me long ago that if I could make a good sauce, I could make anything. I think she is on to something! One of the first things she taught me to make was spaghetti sauce. Contrary to what some of you might think, making your own sauce is not difficult, and it provides the added advantages of being able to control the seasonings, save money and cut back on sodium and sugar to suit your taste and conscience.

This sauce is perfect for lasagna, spaghetti, manicotti, pizza or anything you want a marinara sauce for. If you would like a meat sauce, simply cook ground beef or sausage in a separate pan, drain the fat and add the meat while you simmer the sauce. Of course the added ingredient, especially if you are using sausage, will alter the taste, so be sure not to skip the "final taste-test" in step 4.

I've also included some instructions on how to dice an onion. I am certain my mom taught me this at one point, but it did not sink in until I was already married and had been cooking on my own for a little while. If this is ridiculous for you, laugh and skip it, otherwise, it really might help.

Oh, and one more thing: my mom never measures. And she's the one who taught me to make sauce. So there are no measurements here. I thought about figuring a system of measuring it for you, but I decided that it's good practice to be able to taste and adjust. In fact, you can vary the can sizes and contents as long as you like the taste. You can interchange tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, pureed fresh tomatoes or what-ever you like, but everyone needs some guide-lines, so here goes:

1 onion, diced
3-4 (depending on size) garlic cloves, minced
1 29 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 14-15 oz can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Oregano
Basil
Salt
Black pepper
Sugar
Crushed red pepper
Fresh parsley, chopped

Dice onions by cutting the top and bottom ends off. Then peel the papery layers off the onion. Place one of the flat sides of the onion on top of a cutting board. Not slicing through the entire onion, make cut in the form of a grid, beginning with slices that go vertically along the onion, then turning so that the next set of slices are perpendicular to the first. Then turn the onion on its side and slice it. You should end up with uniformly diced onion pieces, but you will be left with a stub at the end. I usually slice it thinly, then cut my slices. It's not as slick as the first part, but it works well. Please comment if you have a better way of doing this. :)

Drizzle a large sauce pan over med-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until onions become translucent and begin to yellow. Add garlic. Stir the onion and garlic once or twice. Quickly, so as not to burn the garlic, add all crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, etc. Be sure that you use one can (or more for a larger pot of sauce) of tomato paste so your sauce will not be watery.

Season the sauce by adding the bay leaf and subsequent seasonings. Be liberal with basil and oregano (see picture), but remember that you can always add but never remove seasonings. Be less liberal with the black and crushed red pepper, using only about a pinch of each to start with. For sugar, use about 1/2 tsp to begin with. Canned tomatoes differ from brand to type and certainly differ from fresh. Seasonings will have to be adjusted accordingly. Stir the mixture and bring to a simmer. If you like, take a taste, although this will change somewhat as the sauce simmers, so I recommend always tasting the sauce again later.

Cover to let simmer, stirring once every 15-20 minutes. Simmering for about an hour is enough, but if you're in a hurry, it's not imperative. If necessary, you can cut the simmering time down to about 15 minutes. However long it cooks, be sure to taste the mixture about 15 minutes before it is removed from the heat. At this point, adjust any seasonings that need it. Just before removing the sauce from the heat, add chopped parsley.

Tasha's Quinoa Creation

This is a quick, easy and healthy lunch that I like to throw together. It's vegetarian, which is a nice option for some. If you prefer to have some meat in your meal, cooked chicken (I would recommend from a bought, roasted chicken) or turkey kielbasa would be yummy. Feel free to change the vegetables to suit your taste. Cauliflower and broccoli are tasty, too. This serves 2-3

1/2 cup quinoa
Olive or grape-seed oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup loosely-packed, fresh spinach
1-2 scallions, sliced
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 oz. shredded mozzarella

1. Cook quinoa according to instructions.
2. Drizzle non-stick pan with oil. Heat over medium heat. Add garlic, zucchini and pepper. Saute until crisp-tender.
3.  Add peas, spinach, scallions and beans. Season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted and peas are thawed.
4. Sprinkle with cheese, and remove from heat. Cover pan with lid; let sit for about 1 minute, or until cheese is melted.

Tuna Pasta Salad

I remember my mom making this salad for us; it's a great lunch or light dinner for those hot summer days! Mom always served it with Jane's Krazy Mixed up Salt, a staple on the table growing up, along with the salt and pepper. I recommend using here for the seasonings as well as placing it on the table when serving so each person can suit his or her self. If you do not have this spice blend, I recommend a combination of onion and garlic salt.

8 oz. pasta (I like to use whole wheat; here I used whole wheat penne)
1/2 cup frozen peas (do not thaw prior to adding)
1 can tuna
1/2 tomato, diced
3 oz. cubed cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of your favorite mayonnaise (I used Kraft olive oil mayonnaise, which I know probably contains a whole list of unnatural stuff. At any rate, I at least feel sort of good using it. Use whatever your budget and health conscience condone)
1/2 tsp seasonings
1/2 tsp dill

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool.
2. Put pasta into a large bowl. Add frozen peas and stir so peas thaw and cool pasta. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Brown Rice Waffles
The upside of having family members with food intolerances is that I get to learn great new recipes. This delicious, light waffle recipe is an adaptation of a recipe from my sister-in-law. To make it dairy free as well as gluten free, substitute water or rice or soy milk for the buttermilk, although this just tastes yummier if you can tolerate buttermilk. For more fiber, substitute 1-4 tbsp ground flax seed for an equal amount of rice flour. If you like really tender waffles, try substituting up to 1/2 cup almond meal for an equal amount of rice flour.

• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk 

• 3 eggs, separated 

• 1 tbsp oil

• 1 1/2 cup brown rice flour

• 2 tbsp brown sugar 

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Measure buttermilk into a liquid measuring cup.
2. Separate eggs, putting whites into a mixing bowl and yolks into buttermilk. Whip egg whites until stiff. Set aside.
3. Add oil to buttermilk and egg yolks.
4.   Mix dry ingredients. Fold buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients. Fold egg whites into mixture. Cook in waffle iron until cooked as desired.

Bean Minestrone

This is a stand-by for dinner in our house when I'm out of time. The last week of school was just such an occasion for this quick meal.

Any shape pasta works great. This time I used whole wheat spirals, but I've used penne, shells and even spaghetti. The only thing I do not recommend is egg noodles since they taste different.

1/4 cup chopped onions
Olive oil
1/2 cup dry pasta 
2 15 1/2 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15 oz can great northern beans, drained
Pinch crushed red pepper
Oregano*
Basil*
Salt*
1/4 cup chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
Grated Parmesan

Fill a medium sauce-pan with enough water to cook pasta. Bring water to boil, and cook according to package instructions; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, drizzle a large sauce pan with olive oil. Heat over medium heat; add onions. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until tender, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, beans and next four ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about ten minutes. Add parsley and noodles to mixture and stir. Serve with grated Parmesan.
 
*The seasonings should be added according to taste. Usually I sprinkle, stir, simmer for one minute or so, then taste. Often I repeat these steps. If this is too abstract for you, use 1/2 tsp each oregano, basil and salt. I prefer this method for many tomato-based recipes because I think the brands and types of canned tomatoes differ so much in taste from each other.

Crepes

Ahh...Saturdays...sleeping in, coffee and CREPES! A Saturday tradition in our house, crepes are a healthy favorite. This recipe makes 15 crepes, which feeds our family of 5 quite well. You may want to reduce the recipe, depending on how many people you're cooking for.


3 cups skim milk (or whatever type you have; soy or rice milk work, too)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp butter, melted

1. Pour milk into a blender. A mixer works, but a blender is ideal; crepes turn out much smoother when blended rather than just mixed.
2. Add dry ingredients. Puree on blender, scraping sides of pitcher if necessary.
3. Add eggs. Blend.
4. Add vanilla and melted butter. Mix.
5. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. If your pan is even slightly sticky, spray with spray oil. Swirling pan, ladle a scoop-ful of batter (about 1/4 - 1/3 cup), making sure the batter covers the bottom of a pan in a circle. The crepe will be quite thin. Once edges begin to separate from the pan, slide a spatula under the edges of the crepe; once loosened, flip and cook for a short time on the second side. The crepe should be pale with a slightly golden center when done.
6. Transfer crepe to a plate and fill with sour cream, yogurt or ricotta and fruit. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Breakfast Potatoes

Hash-browns are always welcome with eggs; but they can be a pain to cook properly and aren't necessarily all that great for you (starch + fat...). Here's a "healthier" option, that's a bit lower maintenance. For the potatoes, you can use any variety, but lower starch potatoes (white, yellow or red) won't be as prone to crumble when stirred than high starch potatoes (Russets). That said, I typically use Russets because that's what we have.

6 medium potatoes (about 6 c.)

1/2 medium onion

1 bell pepper (any color works)

1 Serrano pepper (optional)

2 t dried thyme

1 t dried rosemary

1/2 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Cube potatoes. (The size isn't so important; but larger cubes will need to cook slightly longer.) Dice or chop the onion to preference. Chop peppers. Place all of the ingredients in a 13X9X2-inch pan. Sprinkle thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper on top. Add in olive oil and stir ingredients together. Bake for 60-75 minutes, stirring with a metal spoon every 10-15 minutes.

This cooks well alongside the Spinach Quiche I posted. Just put in the oven right after you take the pie crust out and they should be done around the same time. Serve with light sour cream and green onions.