Fresh Tomato Sauce

18 Sep 2012 1 Comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Freezer, Main Dish, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags: , ,

While I was out on the East End this past Sunday with my Mom and Grandma we stopped at Harbes Family Farm which is one of the many farmstands along the wine trail. I picked up a few beautiful tomatoes and a pumpkin.  I wanted to make some sauce using a few of the tomatoes so I looked through my fridge and cabinets to see what I could add to those sweet, wonderful smelling tomatoes.  The outcome was a fresh sauce that just bursts with amazing tomato flavor. It was easy to make and was absolutely delicious.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • a few slices of onion (I used some red onion that I had left over but any will work)
  • artichoke hearts-a few good heaping spoonfulls, chopped
  • large green olives, pitted and chopped-I used 4 but you could use more or less
  • 2 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • basil leaf-ripped into small pieces
  • 1/2 lb capellini
  • a few grates of parmesan cheese
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot add garlic and sautee until golden and fragrant. Add onion, olives and artichokes and cook until they start to soften-just a few minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients except for the cheese. Bring to a good steadybubble then reduce heat to simmer and stir occasionally until tomatoes are soft and can be smashed with a wooden spoon in the pan.
  2. Add cheese, cook for another minute or two and then serve spooned over the pasta.

Makes 2 servings.

Sparksfromthekitchen.com original

Santa Fe Soup

13 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Freezer, Lunch, Main Dish, Soup, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags: , ,

Winner winner chicken dinner!! Not only is this chili-like soup very delicious it’s a SNAP to make!! The ingredients are similar to chili but the liquid is much thinner.  Feel free to switch other beans in or use turkey. This makes  4 quarts so, in my house, enough for 2 frozen containers and 3 containers for the next few days for lunch or dinner.  I think this would also be excellent with crushed tortilla chips on top or used to scoop out the soup. So versatile!! I will be making this all fall and winter!!

Santa Fe Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs. ground beef or turkey
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 1 oz package ranch-stype dressing mix
  • 2 1&1/4 oz packages taco seasoning mix
  • 1 16oz can black beans, undrained
  • 1 16oz can kidney beans, undrained
  • 1 16oz can pinto beans, undrained
  • 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 small can green chilis
  • 2 16oz cans yellow and white corn undrained
  • 2 cups water
  • Garnish: sour cream, grated sharp cheddar (not pre grated as it won’t melt properly), sliced green onions

Instructions: (I said it was really easy didn’t I? 1 step)

  1. Cook meat and onion together in a large stock pot until meat is browned and onion is soft. Stir in ranch dressing mix, taco seasoning into meat and stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients with juices from all. Add water. Simmer for 2 hours.  If mixture is too thick gradually add additional water to desired thickness. Garnish with sour cream and/or cheese and/or sliced green onions.

Makes 4 quarts. Needs to simmer for 2 hours (but it’s worth it I promise!!)

Adapted from Recipies Worth Sharing cookbook. This is a GREAT book-all of the recipies are from various community cookbooks from all over the country. This particular recipe is from the community cookbook Food for Thought from Junior League of Birmingham, Inc.  Burmingham, Alabama.

Velvet Pumpkin Bread

12 Sep 2012 1 Comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Appetizer, Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Freezer, Prep-Ahead, Freeze then Cook, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags: ,

The weather has gotten so nice and cool this week-high 70s during the day, low 60s at night-a great change from the super-humid hot weather we had for the past few weeks. So the air conditioning is off, the windows are open and it feels great-in other words the fall bug has bitten me. I was looking through some of the cookbooks that I’ve picked up for my Kindle and came across the Gooseberry Pumpkin Cookbook that I’d purchased last year- link.

This recipe made 2 gorgeous delicious loaves of super-moist, amazingly tasty pumpkin bread and they were really easy to make. Wow did my house smell amazing while they were cooking too!! I left one loaf at home and brought one to work for my co-workers to enjoy today.

(Next fall when I make this I’d like to try using greek yogurt instead of the oil. I’m not sure of the conversion amounts though-I will have to find out and put an alternate ingredient on this recipe.)

Velvet Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1&1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups canned pumpkin (one 16 oz can)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray 2 9″x5″ loaf pans with non-stick baking spray.
  2. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon 3 times and set aside.  In a large bowl combine oil and sugar and mix well then blend in flour mixture. Add the eggs and pumpkin and mix well.  Pour batter into the 2 prepared pans and bake for 1 hour.

Makes 2 loaves.

Marinara Sauce 2

10 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by sparksfromthekitchen in Freezer, Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags:

I was over at my girlfriend Michelle’s house on Saturday night working on making these delicious appetizers and she was also making a big pot of sauce which smelled absolutely magnificent. A super delicious, easy to make sauce that is very versatile. She made it to use later in the week in baked ziti but it would also be great with spaghetti or other pasta…..

Michelle’s Magnificent Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, grated
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup red wine (she used cabernet)
  • 3 28oz. cans crushed san marzano tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • dried parsley-small palmful
  • dried oregano-small  handful
  • fresh oregano-1 tsp chopped small
  • fresh basil-1 handful-chopped small

Instructions:

  1. In a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat cook onion and carrot in olive oil until soft. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 2 hours.

Sparksfromthekitchen.com original via friend 🙂

Barbacoa Beef

13 Aug 2012 3 Comments

by sparksfromthekitchen in Freezer, Lunch, Main Dish, Thaw/Reheat & Serve Tags:

 

You know why this is a crappy photo? Because for 4.5 hours I’d been smelling this beef cooking in the oven. Quite frankly I was in such a hurry to eat it that I didn’t care how the photo came out. I took a bite and took a picture. That should give you a clue about how awesome this smells. I have to tell you-it tastes even better.

Image

Barbacoa Beef

Ingredients: 

  • 3 lbs beef eye of round or bottom round roast, all fat trimmed
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 1/2 lime, juice
  • 1 chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ground oregano
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 cup fat free beef broth

Instructions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 275f.
  2. Place garlic, onion, lime juice, cumin, oregano, chipotles and cloves in a bowl and use immersion blender to liquify (or use blender or food processor).
  3. Trim all fat off of meat, cut into 4 large chunks. Place dutch oven on stove over med-high heat with 1 tsp oil and brown meat on all sides.  Add liquified spices, bay leaves and beef broth. Cook, covered, in oven 4 to 5 hours, checking every once in a while to make sure there’s enough liquid. Once cooked shred it with two forks, discard bay leaves and adjust seasoning to taste. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes to let the liquid thicken.
  4. I served mine with warm tortillas, shredded cheddar cheese and guacamole to make the tacos and Gina’s cilantro lime rice and corn salsa on the side. Perfect!!!  My husband made some awesome tacos with the rice, salsa and all of the toppings. It was delicious.

Slightly adapted from awesome Gina at SkinnyTaste

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