Easy Penne Alla Vodka

Hi there. Still pregnant. Still hot. Still uncomfortable... still trying to cook meals. A whole lot of "still" going on around here. I'm not really in the mood to think of anything creative so I've been sticking to foods I know we love.

With that said, this pasta was one of the best things I've made in a long time. We are all fans of vodka sauce so I figured I'd try this and this is now my go-to sauce. We loved it. Typically when I make a sauce I try to cut back on the cream and the cheese to make it lighter, but this time I just threw caution to the wind and I think that's what made this so darn good. Cheese. And cream. Yum!

Source: Slightly adapted from So Tasty So Yummy

Ingredients:
1 pound penne pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup vodka
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (14.5 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:

1- Prepare the pasta per package instructions, drain and set aside, reserving the pasta water. 

2- In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic, saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion is soft. 

3- Add the vodka to the pan, bring to a simmer for 2 minutes more. Stir in the red pepper and tomatoes, bring to a simmer. 

4- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cream and salt, once the mixture begins to bubble, stir in the Parmesan. 

5- Add the pasta and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water if the sauce needs thinning (mine didn't need thinning). Serve topped with additional Parmesan cheese.

Crockpot Vegetable Marinara Sauce

As a mom of a picky toddler I am constantly trying to get vegetables in my son in one way or another. He likes certain things (peas/carrots/spinach/sweet potatoes/mushrooms) but beyond that... yeah... he's not so interested right now. One thing he does eat in huge quantities though is tomato sauce. I go through a lot of sauce with him. He uses it as a dip for just about everything, eats lots of homemade pizza, and tons of pasta. So with that said I figured I'd try to make a healthier sauce that incorporates more veggies. This turned out great! What I will say though is that it does change the flavor of the sauce depending on what veggies you use so if you have a very intuitive little one at home, you might get caught. Since it's cooked in the slow cooker for hours the veggies completely turn to mush and are easy to puree into the sauce. I plan to make this many many more times in the coming months!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
2 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can whole peeled plum tomatoes
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, peeled and sliced in half
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp garlic powder
4 tbsp butter

Directions:
1- Combine all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2- When done, remove the onion. Use an immersion blender and puree the sauce to the desired consistency.

Marsala Ravioli

Is anyone else in love with Costco? It's my happy place. It's also the only store that John goes to happily! We're like a giddy little family in there... I love looking at all the stuff, John loves eating all the samples, and Landon is pretty sure he's the mayor of every store we enter so he waves, keeps a close eye on everyone so there's no riff-raff, and basically spends the whole trip sharing in our family joy of bulk shopping. The only downfall to Costco is we are a family of 3... and one of us only weighs 17 pounds (it's me... how'd you know?!), so we don't really go through food from there too quickly. I bought a 5 pound bag of ravioli from there some time ago and have been slowlyyyy working my way through the bag. I had had enough of my usual combo (tomato sauce and spinach) and was excited to try something new. Someone I know suggested making a marsala sauce for them and I was sold. This meal was excellent. John and I both were in love with them. The sauce was so delicious- I can't wait to try this again!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp crushed garlic (or 2 cloves)

1.5 cups mushrooms

3/4 cup marsala wine

1 cup chicken broth

1 packed Swanson chicken flavor boost (optional, but recommended) 

1/2 cup Philly Roasted Garlic Cooking Creme

1 pound cheese ravioli, cooked

Parmesan cheese

Dried parsley

Directions:

1- Saute the butter and garlic over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and stir, allowing to cook in the butter until soft.

2- Stir in the marsala wine and allow to cook for about 3 minutes, adding in the broth and flavor boost packet. Heat about 5 minutes.

3- Stir in the garlic cooking creme and heat about 4-5 minutes. Pour over cooked ravioli. Top with parmesan and parsley. Serve hot.

Vidalia Onion & Peach Tomato Sauce (& GIVEAWAY!)

Are you into canning? Quite honestly, I knew very little about canning until recently. Since I don't grow a garden I never really looked into canning, and if I'm being honest it intimidated me. When the people at Ball Canning contacted me I was thrilled. Personally I am a big fan of their jars (see below for a giveaway of their jars!) and have used them for so many purposes, none of which were canning (you know... stuff in the classroom, drinking water...etc.) When they offered to send me a kit to get me started with canning I thought it would be a great new challenge. Little did I know it's really not that challenging at all. In fact, if you're interested in canning check out their canning products here. Some of my favorite items I received are the freezer jars and dissolvable labels.

When I knew I'd be canning I assumed I'd make a jam. That's pretty standard, no? However, my friend Natalie at The Dinner Club had been raving about her peach tomato sauce and I decided I needed to try it. She guest posted on her friend's blog and the recipe sold me. Hands down this is one of my favorite recent recipes. It's sweet and delicious. I have so many meals planned around this sauce... the first of which was a pizza I'll be sharing soon. This is such a great way to feature summer produce and enjoy a healthy, interesting sauce.  Please try it- you owe it to yourself!

See below the recipe for giveaway details!

Source: Adapted from The Dinner Club as seen on LeMoine Family Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small/medium vidalia onion (or half a large), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
3 peaches, peeled and diced
4 tomatoes (2 beefsteak and 2 on the vine were used, but any 2 work), peeled and diced
15 basil leaves, sliced thin
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1- Heat the oil, add the onion. Season with salt and allow to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cooking another minute or so.
2- Deglaze the pan using either the wine or broth. Cook an additional 5 minutes.
3- Add the tomatoes and peaches. Season with salt. Cover. Cook about 30 minutes.
4- Remove the lid, using a potato masher mash the fruit mixture. Recover, add the basil, and cook over medium/low for an additional 30-40 minutes.
5- Season with salt and pepper to taste.


BUT NOW... for the part you're really interested in... the giveaway. Ball is kind enough to send the winner a set of jars to get you started on your own canning venture.

TO ENTER:
1- Leave a comment on this post telling me what you'd do with your jars if you were to win. 
2- ONE ENTRY PER PERSON- please be sure to leave your email so I have a way to contact you. 
3- Comments are moderated- they will not appear as soon as you post, please do not resend the comment.

Contest will end TUESDAY, JULY 17 at MIDNIGHT.

(Image in the picture may not be the same set you receive).

Chinese Barbecue Sauce

One week prior to finding out about my son's dairy allergy I had rejoined Weight Watchers to get off the last baby pounds that don't seem to want to budge. After one week on the program I found out about the allergy and was completely overwhelmed- I was looking at every single ingredient I used for dairy and hidden dairy, plus calculating points. John, being the saint that he is, said I needed to stop "the WW" as he calls it for now and focus on the dairy. Sure enough this no-dairy diet is a somewhat effective method of weight loss haha! However, I had already paid for my three month membership so even though I'm not currently counting my points I am using their recipes and tracking my weight loss.

 I do have to say that Weight Watchers has a ton of excellent recipes online. I've tried many and been very pleased. My latest concoction was this barbecue sauce. It was really very good! I used it for a few things so far, namely a barbecue chicken pizza and served with grilled shrimp, and I intend to use it for a few other recipes this week. It keeps for up to two weeks stored in the fridge. It has a very interesting flavor from the Chinese 5 spice, which is new to me. Definitely give this a shot- it's so easy and light, you can't go wrong.

Source: Weight Watchers Online

Ingredients:
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup diet Ginger Ale
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 tsp five-spice powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
1- Combine all of the ingredients in a small sauce pot. Bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer over low-medium for 5 minutes (or longer if you want it to thicken more).
2- Allow to cool 10 minutes before using. Allow to cool completely before storing in the fridge. Lasts for two weeks.

Penne Vodka

I go through phases when it comes to Italian food. As a child I always ordered stuffed pastas (stuffed shells, manicotti, etc.).  I then got older and started to order baked ziti everywhere we went (which is quite different from stuffed shells, no?) After that phase came penne vodka. I'm happy to report that my eating has drastically improved with age and I rarely order any of these dishes out because, quite frankly, I can make them just as well at home! I like to order something more interesting when I go out, something I might not make, or something that takes more talent on the chef's part. With that said, time to time I still do order penne vodka because it's just so stinking good. I find there to be two types of penne vodka: a deeper colored vodka sauce that tends to be rich in flavors, and a lighter pink vodka sauce then tends to be creamier and silkier. This is definitely an example of the latter. 

This recipe comes with extremely high praise from many people I know. After hearing about it over and over I decided I needed to finally try it. For awhile I was scared to try this recipe because of the amount of fat/calories in it... but really, it's vodka sauce. If you're looking for a diet food move on. This was super easy to make and came out quite delicious. I tend to prefer my vodka sauces to be a bit smokier/richer in flavor, while this one is definitely more of a creamy tomato taste. With that said, it was still excellent and I'm glad I have several bags of it in the freezer for later meals! If you love a creamy vodka sauce this is for you.

Source: My friend Amy

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vodka

1 tbsp. red pepper flakes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 slices prosciutto, finely chopped

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, San Marzano preferred

1 cup Romano cheese

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 stick butter

Directions:

1- Soak the red pepper flakes in the vodka for 10 minutes. Strain the pepper flakes out. 

2- Heat the oil in a large sauce pot. Add the onion and prosciutto, cooking for about 8 minutes.

3- Add the tomatoes and vodka, cooking on low for 30 minutes.

4- Add the cheese, heavy cream, and butter. Cook 20 minutes.

5- Toss with pasta and serve.

Spicy Tomato Skillet Pasta

Sometimes the most simple meals are the best. I think that's why Italian food is so amazing. It's simple ingredients combined to form complex flavors. Since I make a lot of Italian food I tend to have many staples in my kitchen. When I don't feel like cooking I often throw some of this and some of that together in one skillet and just see how it goes. This was an example of such a meal. Best of all this came out truly awesome. I have been really enjoying spicy food lately so I loved this. John felt the heat was a bit intense, so definitely use less red pepper flakes if you aren't into spicy food. I think we can all also agree that the fact that this dish only uses one skillet (and the pot to cook the pasta) it's a nice, low-key meal.

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 cup chicken broth

4 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, sliced and defrosted

1 zucchini, shredded

1 can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup marsala wine (can sub red or white wine)

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (less if you want it mild)

1/2 tsp. onion powder

Salt

Pepper

1/2 pound pasta, cooked

Directions:

1- In a skillet heat the oil. Add the garlic and stir well. After 2-3 minutes add the chicken broth, artichokes, and zucchini. Stir well and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

2- Add the can of diced tomatoes, marsala wine, red pepper flakes, and onion powder.

3- Raise the heat and cook over high heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper. Add the pasta to the skillet and stir.

4- Keep the pasta and sauce cooking over high heat until the sauce thickens and coats the pasta. 

5- Serve with parmesan cheese, if desired. 

Chipotle Alfredo Sauce

You know I love chipotles in adobo. If you don't, you live under a rock. I've raved about them over and over again. Some of my favorites are chipotle chicken pasta, spiced chipotle honey chicken with sweet potatoes, and carmelized chipotle chicken. They are just so smokey and rich... spicy and flavorful... ugh, love. Especially now that I just freeze them and pop some out as needed I always keep them on hand!

I had seen this recipe on Cassie's blog and was intrigued. I don't love alfredo sauce, and I really don't love alfredo with a cream cheese base, but I do love chipotle peppers and I do feel they can make anything amazing. So I did it. John absolutely loved this and I liked it a lot. I like a thinner sauce (this was that heavy alfredo taste which 95% of people love) but the chipotles took it to another level for me. I will definitely make this again since it was so easy. It is heavy though so don't expect to eat too much of it! John, who can demolish alfredo sauce, didn't eat as much as he typically does. A little goes a long way but it's pretty stinkin' tasty!

Source: Adapted from Cassie Craves, originally from Kraft

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup pecorino romano cheese
1/2-1 tbsp. chipotle puree* (see note below)
8 ounces fettuccinie or linguine

Directions:
1- Cook pasta according to packaging directions.
2- Meanwhile, in a small sauce pot combine the butter, milk, and cream cheese. Heat until the cream cheese is melted and smooth. Stir in the cheese and chipotle puree.
3- Pour over the hot pasta, tossing well to evenly coat. Serve hot.

* Note- The recipe calls for 1/2 tbsp chipotle puree. I found that to barely give it the chipotle flavor so I doubled it. Now, it was spicy but not too much. If you don't love heat keep it to the 1/2 tbsp. To make the paste I just minced a pepper and stirred it until smooth with the adobo sauce from the can.

Spanish Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

If I was single or lived alone I can pretty much assure you I would eat pasta with sauce 3-4 times a week. I can eat just plain pasta and sauce and never get sick of it. Since I do have John to cook for I try to vary it up because believe it or not, he doesn't share my same die hard ways when it comes to pasta. He loves it, yes, but he wouldn't love just plain pasta and sauce 3-4 times a week. Whatever, he's weird... but I love him.

When I saw this recipe I knew this would be a great excuse for just pasta and sauce. I mean, it's not JUST sauce if it's made from veggies other than tomatoes, right? This came together easily and tasted amazing. It also made a decent sized pot of sauce so I froze most of it for when the baby comes in 3 months. I'm trying to start stocking the freezer with sauces since I know cooking won't be my first priority for some time. If you like red peppers you'll definitely like this. Best of all I had nice fresh tomatoes from my dad's garden and fresh peppers from the farmer's market so this sauce was delicious. I'd highly suggest it, especially while the produce is still so good.

Source: Slightly adapted from DeLish

Ingredients:
5 red peppers
3 medium/large tomatoes
1 small onion, diced
Olive oil
1/4 cup light cream
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 375. Line a large baking pan with foil. Slice the tomatoes in half, placing them slice side down. Also place the peppers in the pan. Drizzle the veggies with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip them over. Return to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes. The peppers should be soft and have slightly blackened spots.
3- Chop off the tops of the peppers, clean out the seeds. (You can peel the skin if you want- I peeled any really blackened spots). Peel the tomato skins.
4- Place the veggies in your food processor, processing until smooth.
5- In a large sauce pot add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onion, stirring regularly. When onion is soft, about 5 minutes, add the veggie puree to the pot along with the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cook 5-10 minutes over low heat, until smooth.
6- Serve over hot pasta.

Lighter Lemon Cream Pasta

Lemon is such a refreshing flavor, isn't it? One little slice of lemon and a flavorless glass of water is suddenly a delicious treat. Lemon is also great on chicken, in desserts, and even in pasta! I've tried a lemon spaghetti recipe before that was quite popular years ago and just wasn't sold. It was a cream sauce but it was so heavy and the lemon flavor was so intense. I remember vaguely disliking it and thinking I was done with lemon pasta recipes. However, the other day in the grocery store the lemons looked so fresh and beautiful I grabbed a few and figured I'd see what happened. Enter this sauce. Honestly, this sauce was awesome. It was much lighter since the main ingredient is chicken broth. A little bit of cream smooths it out, but honestly I'd say you could even skip the cream altogether if you have some moral obligation to cream. But... if you have a moral obligation to cream I am assuming you don't read my blog. So we should all be good, no?

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. buter
1/2 small yellow onion, diced small
1 tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 lemon, juice of, and 1/2 tsp. zest
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1/2 pound pasta

Directions:
1- In a small sauce pot heat the butter and onion until the onion is tender. Add the flour, stirring well.
2- Whisk in the broth and stir until well combined. Turn up the heat until it boils. Turn heat down to medium, allowing the sauce to reduce and thicken. Lower the heat to low.
3- Squeeze the juice of the lemon in and stir in the 1/2 tsp of zest.
4- Add the cream and parsley. Stir well. Heat on low for 5 minutes.
5- Toss with pasta, serve hot.

Sweet & Spicy Asian Dipping Sauce

I have the world's smallest freezer. For real, I think I do. I have to make a decision between ice cream or ice. I can't have both. And I'll let you guess which one often wins... Needless to say I can't keep many things in the freezer at once and often need to do "clean outs" where I make meals revolving around what's in there. The other day as I was digging through my tiny, non-existent freezer I found a bag of Thai vegetable gyoza from Trader Joe's that were hogging up too much room. I decided to make them, along with some form of shrimp. Being lazy (or um... creative? More likely lazy...) I wanted to use one sauce for both. I found this and it was awesome. You can use this as a dipping sauce for gyoza or even egg rolls. I thickened some up by pouring it in a pan over high heat and used it to coat shrimp. It would be great with chicken, shrimp, or even scallops. Overall very versatile and very tasty. You can also adjust the heat level by adding more or less chili sauce!

Source: Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp. Asian chili sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
Sesame seeds or chopped scallions for garnish, optional

Directions:
1- Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring well until sugar is dissolved.

Garlic Spaghetti

My Sunday routine is pretty set. I tutor in the morning, I come home, I cook and bake all day, and I avoid doing laundry like it's the plague. That's just the way it is here in my little ol' house.

Well, the past few weeks my schedule has been completely thrown off! My father, who is the best EVER, has been redoing our kitchen and guess what day he comes? Yup, you guessed it... Sunday. So since he's been here sanding and grouting and laying tile I have been exiled to the living room. Since I can't actually cook and bake my Sundays away I've been watching others do it on the Food Network. The other day Melissa d'Arabian was making this simple spaghetti recipe and I just knew I needed to make it. I was immediately enticed when I saw that she slow cooked the garlic for 30 minutes before adding the tomatoes. I added it to our next weekly menu and made it.

 I am happy to report that this dinner was excellent! I halved both the oil and the butter because it called for an insane amount of each, and it was still unreal. The recipe below is what I did, but if you feel like playing fast and loose with the rules (and your hips) feel free to click on the original and make the original. I'm sure the extra oil and butter make it that much more rich and delicious. This is a great weeknight meal and perfect for when you want a simple meal.

Source: Adapted from Melissa d'Arabian

Ingredients:

9 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp. butter
1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1/2 lb.- 1 pound spaghetti, cooked (I used 1/2 lb. of perciatelli- it's long and thick with a hollow center)
1 tbsp. dried basil

Directions:

1- In a saucepan combine the garlic and oil. Heat over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2- Add the butter until melted. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, and season with salt and pepper.
3- Heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4- Toss in the cooked spaghetti. Serve hot.

Pasta with Slow Roasted Vodka Sauce

... aka "Pasta alla Vecchia Bettola." But I like to keep things simple, so I'm gonna go with slow roasted vodka sauce, 'k? Great.

This past week NJ got hit with a lovely snow storm that closed school. While most people were probably excited to sleep in, or catch up on their DVRd shows, or read a good book, I was excited to make this recipe. I had it bookmarked but knew it was a bit time consuming, so I was saving it for a day I had time to play around in the kitchen. This recipe is EASY to make- the oven does all the work for you, but it is time consuming.

The verdict?! Well worth the time. I loved it. Slow roasting the tomatoes really brings out the flavor and adds a level of depth to the sauce. The sauce came out a bit thick, and I could have thinned it out with more cream but I didn't want to add the extra fat. Next time I'd puree the tomatoes more in my food processor to thin it out. Even with it thick it was delicious. My only regret? Halving the recipe. I wish I made the whole thing and froze half the sauce! It's that good.

Source: So Tasty, So Yummy
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
¼ cup good olive oil 
1 medium Spanish onion, chopped 
3 cloves of garlic, diced 
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano 
1 cup vodka 
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes 
Kosher salt 
Freshly ground black pepper 
1 pound ridged pasta
4 tablespoons fresh oregano (can substitute 1 tbsp. dried)
¾ to 1 cup light cream 
Grated Parmesan cheese 


Directions:


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Heat the olive oil in a large oven proof saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and dried oregano and cook for 1 minute more. Add the vodka and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half. 

Meanwhile, remove the tomatoes from the juice in the can and crush them into the pan with your hands. Add 1 teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 1 ½ hours. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and set aside. 

Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency. Return to the pan. 

Reheat the sauce, add 2 tablespoons fresh oregano and enough heavy cream to make the sauce a creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper, to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss the pasta into the sauce and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in ½ cup Parmesan. Serve with an additional sprinkle of Parmesan and a sprinkle of fresh oregano on each plate.

Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

This post is a bonus post- woo hoo! I pretty much stick to my regular blogging schedule of every other day, but I have an insane surplus of recipes to blog and I am so excited to share them with you. Not to mention today is a SNOW DAY (every teachers' fave) so I figured why not  post a little ol' bonus for you?!

I am obsessed with Trader Joe's (like... obsessed...) but there isn't one locally so I only go every now and then. When I was there last I got a package of sundried tomato and goat cheese ravioli. I put them in the fridge and instantly began thinking of what kind of sauce to use. Regular ol' marinara would have worked, but I wanted something that wouldn't mask the flavor of the goat cheese and sundried tomatoes. Instantly I knew I needed to make a brown butter sage sauce so I dug through my gigantic recipes-to-try file and grabbed this sauce.

Was it good? OH YES it was. I moaned, I groaned, I begged John to tell me I was the best cook he had ever met. Ooops, maybe I took sharing too far... hmmm... But anyways, this sauce was to die for. My only "issue" if you will is that when I added the parmesan it didn't incorporate as well as I'd have liked and the sauce was speckled with white cheese. Did it affect the taste? No- not at all. But the look was meh. Next time I'd use freshly shaved instead of grated cheese- that'll solve the problem.

Source: Sauce slightly adapted from Mario Batali

Ingredients:
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. sage
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated or freshly shaved)
Ravioli (or pasta of choice)

Directions:
1- Bring a pot of water to boil, add the pasta, and cook according to packaging directions.
2- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan add the butter and melt until it begins to brown in the shallowest places. Watch it closely- you don't want to burn your butter.
3- Add sage, remove from the heat.
4- Add lemon and parmesan, stirring well.
5- Pour the sauce over the ravioli, or pasta of choice, and serve hot.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Um... yum!!! Did you read the title and think "OH BABY!" Because I did when I first read it. I loooove me some buttah... so good.

Now if your health conscious like I am, anything that has the word "butter" in the title instantly sends up a WARNING signing. I will promise you though that the amount of butter per serving is small, the taste is huge, and it's all so very very worth it. There is no excuse to use jarred sauce- this recipe only has four (4!!) ingredients. Best of all it is so low maintenance that you can make it while you do other things around the kitchen.

I would describe this sauce as velvetty... it's smooth, slightly thick, and rich tasting. The onion and butter combine and make the most flavorful sauce. Best of all there are no onion chunks floating around, so if you have a picky eater (like my husband who hates onion chunks) this will be a winner. The original recipe calls for whole tomatoes but I used puree, you can easily use chopped, crushed, whole, or puree. It's up to you!

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

28 ounces (800 grams) whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them) (crushed or puree will work too)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you didn’t need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Shrimp in a Chinese Lemon Sauce

I'm going to let you in on a little secret here in the Stephanie Cooks kitchen. When I am interested in making something new I google random combinations of ingredients and see what comes up. I had shrimp defrosted the other day and didn't know what do with them so I googled the words "Asian" and "lemon sauce." Who knows, but I figured mayybeeeee something tasty would turn up. Low and behold, this little gem turned up! It wasn't from a well known recipe database, had no reviews, and no real way of knowing if it would be a hit... but boy oh boy was it!

This sauce isn't just for shrimp. It could easily be used with chicken, to dip egg rolls in, or for a variety of other meals. It was just tasty. It had a nice sweet taste yet a good balance with the lemon juice. John and I both really enjoyed it. I thought it complemented the shrimp greatly! If you are looking for a light and flavorful sauce give this a shot.

Source: Adapted from Kitchen Cooking Recipes

Ingredients:
3/4 pound peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ketchup
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon cold water
Cooking spray

Directions:
Heat chicken broth, lemon juice, honey, vinegar, vegetable oil, ketchup and garlic salt to boiling in a 1-quart saucepan.

Mix cornstarch and water; stir into broth mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, coat a skillet with cooking spray. Add the shrimp and heat until cooked through on both sides and the shrimp is pink (about 1-2 minutes per side). Pour the sauce into the skillet and toss to coat.

Serve hot.

Pizza Sauce

Making pizza at home is a fun, healthy alternative to take out. I have gradually increased how "homemade" my homemade pizza is. It started with pre-made crusts, like Boboli or Pillsbury, and increased to homemade crusts. It was only fitting that I set aside my jarred pizza sauce and made that from scratch too. This recipe looked perfect so I whipped it up with really no effort at all. Just dump a few ingredients in a pot and let it go. The sauce was delicious! Just right for pizza. Once it cooled I froze ladles of the sauce in little cups and then popped the sauce out into a freezer bag. Next time I make pizza I just need to grab a frozen cube of sauce and ta-da, homemade pizza!

Note: My stores do NOT sell 15 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes so I just bought a 28 ounce can and doubled it. The sauce freezes well and we eat pizza a lot so it won't go to waste!

Source: Chef Mommy

Ingredients:
Makes about 1 1/4 cups of sauce.

15 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt or to taste

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat add the oil. Then add the garlic and cook till fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a gently boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 15-18 minutes. Once finished cooking, remove from the heat and let cool.

Store extra sauce in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Lighter Tomato Pesto Sauce

I know I'm behind the times but I just got a food processor this past weekend! I know, I know, shocking right? I have wanted to make so many recipes and been unable to because of my lack of food processor. It reached a point where I just needed one so I went on Friday and picked one up. I was trying to decide what my first meal would be using my food processor and pesto sauce seemed like a natural choice. I had a fresh basil plant in my kitchen that could use a little pruning, so pesto it was.

I'm not the biggest fan of pesto but John loves it. I can't really eat it unless there are some tomatoes or other flavor mixed in with the pesto sauce. Luckily I had some grape tomatoes to use up. I also wanted to reduce the fat because typically pesto is a very calorie loaded sauce. I was really pleased with the end results of this sauce. If you are a die hard pesto fan you might not love this, it isn't traditional in it's flavors, but it is definitely delicious. The basil has a starring role but it isn't the only flavor you taste. You definitely can taste the tomatoes too. Overall quite delicious and I look forward to using up the remaining sauce in a recipe later this week!



Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp. chopped walnuts
10-15 grape tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup fat free chicken broth
1 tsp. corn starch
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
1- In a food processor, process the basil, tomatoes, walnuts, and garlic until all are finely chopped.
2- Pour in the olive oil and pulse a few times until the oil is dispersed. Scrape down the sides and empty the contents into a small bowl.
3- In a small saucepan combine the chicken broth and corn starch, whisking to combine.
4- Add the contents of the pesto from the small bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
5- Reduce head to low and allow to simmer over low for 20 minutes.
6- Serve over pasta, chicken, or fish.

Slow Roasted Tomato "Sauce"

I say this way too often about my own cooking, but this was AMAZING! The concept is simple enough but the taste is anything but simple. I was craving a big ol' bowl of angel hair but I wasn't in the mood for any type of sauce. I then remembered my new found love for slow roasted tomatoes and decided to give it a whirl and see how it turned out. And boy oh boy was I pleased! I will warn you though, this isn't a recipe for a weeknight. The tomatoes take 5.5 hours in the oven but don't let that discourage you! The work you have to do is minimal.

After I took the first bite I moaned. Out loud. Yup. I then ordered John to try it. He was too busy trying to find something to watch on TV and I kept begging him to stop and try it. I seriously almost ate my whole plate before he even took a bite. Have I raved enough about this?! It's that good. For John's portion I added some olive oil to the tomato mixture, so feel free to do that if you are interested. Top it with some fresh parm cheese and you are in for a real treat!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
9 plum tomatoes, cut in half and scooped hallow
1 small onion, chopped into 8 pieces
3 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper
fresh basil (I used 4-5 leaves)

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 225.
2- Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
3- Lay the tomatoes out flat and sprinkle with an even layer of salt and pepper. Add the onions and whole garlic cloves to the pan.
4- Bake for 5.5 hours, flipping the mixture over 1/2 way though. Season the other side of the tomatoes with salt and pepper before returning them to the oven.
5- Once time is up, remove them from the oven and place the mixture in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes. Use a small knife to chop any big pieces.
6- Tear the basil leaves, toss in the mix, and stir.
7- Serve with pasta.

**0 points for 1/3 of the tomato mixture

Arrabbiata Sauce

Arrabbiata sauce is hands down my favorite sauce. It is tomato based, making it a healthy, light sauce, but it is packing a lot of flavor from the spicy red pepper flakes. Recently I have been really craving pasta with red sauce. I knew I would need to whip up some arrabbiata sauce so I went to All Recipes and sure enough there were many recipes to choose from. I modified this original recipes to make it slightly less chunky by replacing one can of diced tomatoes with 1.5 cups of tomato sauce. This was the most delicious sauce I have ever made. It was spicy yet slightly sweet. My husband, who could care less about red sauce, ate a HUGE plate of pasta with this stuff and kept raving about it. Big winner here- I will be making this regularly!

Source: Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
1.5 cups tomato sauce (use something without added flavor- like a can of Hunts tomato sauce or Ragu traditional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes.
Stir in wine, sugar, basil, red pepper, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, black pepper and tomato sauce and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes.
Stir in parsley. Ladle over the hot cooked pasta of your choice.

** 1 point per 1/2 cup serving, about 8 servings total