ZESTY PIZZA SAUCE

Before going back to work this week, after more than a year of maternity leave, I started freaking out about meals, and how I was going to get everything done. So I took a day out of my weekend, and made a bunch of food. Most of it didn't turn out, but this pizza sauce sure did.

It's super easy, I made it while my dough was rising, and very flavorful. It had a good consistency, and a little kick. It was my first time making homemade sauce, so I don't have much to compare it to, but it sure beats the stuff from the squeezable bottle!

Zesty Pizza Sauce
recipe adapted from Life's Ambrosia

1 (680 ml) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 heaping tsp minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon fennel seed
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper depending on the amount of spice you like
heaping 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon allspice

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until it starts to bubble slightly, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Use on your favorite pizza.

We're pretty boring here, when it comes to pizza, but when you have a great crust and a flavorful sauce, you don't need much else. My husband's side had pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers, onions and extra cheese, mine had mushrooms, green peppers, onions easy on the cheese, and the girls had a plain pepperoni and cheese portion. Love that you can customize home made pizza so easily. I stretch out my dough into a parchment lined baking sheet, spread on the sauce, add the toppings, sprinkle with cheese and bake it in a 450 oven for 20 minutes, keeping an eye on it for the last few minutes so the cheese doesn't get too brown. Super easy, everybody loves pizza, and there's usually leftovers, great hot or cold, pretty much any time of day.

CHILI MAC

I wish I had more recipes for one skillet meals. With school starting up again, my going back to work after being on maternity leave for over a year, four mouths to feed... I'm starting to stress about weeknight dinners. After being away from my husband and kids all day, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour in the kitchen trying to keep them away from the stove while I try to figure something out for dinner. 

I have a feeling that this meal will make be featured on the menu quite often. I've adapted from The Cooking Photographer to suit our tastes and to up the veggie content. I'm sure the original is awesome, but when pressed for time, I like to use what I have on hand.

Chili Mac

1 ¼ pounds ground beef
1 onion
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 tbsp chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tbsp tex mex seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
8 ounces (2 cups) small pasta
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Freshly ground pepper
Sour cream & parsley for garnish (optional)

Using the food processor, chop the onion, the carrots and the celery. Add the veggies and the ground beaf to a large non stick skillet and cook over medium high heat. When the meat is no longer pink, strain off the grease, and add seasonings, garlic and brown sugar. Cook over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant.

Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, pasta, and 2 cups water. Stir to combine, cover and keep at a high simmer for about 14 minutes or until juices are absorbed and pasta is tender.
Stir in cheese and season with freshly ground pepper. Taste for salt and add if needed. Garnish with sour cream and parsley if desired.

It's quick and easy, and most importantly, everybody loves it.  

ROOT BEER PORK SANDWICH

I'm always on the lookout for tasty pork recipes. It's cheap, it's lean (well, it can be) and it's tasty. A little while ago I saw a pin on Pinterest for Root Beer pulled pork, I registered mild interest, then I moved on. A couple of days ago, I remembered the bottle of Root Beer in the basement fridge, added the two pork tenderloins that were in the kitchen fridge, and went looking for that recipe again. I guess there are 3 or 4 recipes floating around, and I decided to go with the tasty kitchen recipe, just because it uses chili sauce, and I thought it would be different than the usual pop + bbq sauce recipe.

Root Beer Pork SandwichRecipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

2 pork tenderloins
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 large onion, cut into wedges
4 cups Root Beer, divided
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bottled chili sauce

Place onion wedges at the bottom of a slow cooker. Sprinkle meat with the salt and pepper. Transfer meat to the cooker. Add 1 cup root beer and garlic. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. 

When the meat is ready, take it out of the slow cooker and slice thinly or shred. In a medium saucepan combine the remaining 3 cups of root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and add the sliced pork. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until pork is nicely coated and almost all the sauce is reduced.

Serve meat in a crusty bun, or wrap in a flour tortilla. Serve with coleslaw or potato salad.

This was a very tasty use for pork tenderloins. It was fast and easy, required few ingredients, and made a good meal. My husband compared this to spareribs, and loved the taste. Will definitely make again.

SWEET, TANGY AND CRUNCHY COLESLAW

We got a perfectly round little green cabbage from the CSA last week. Thankfully, sandwiches were on the menu, and what goes better with a sandwich than coleslaw? Well maybe chips, or fries, but coleslaw is pretty good too.

Now usually I just make a quicky coleslaw out of freshly grated coleslaw mix from farmboy (not the prepackaged regular grocery store kind, it has a weird taste), bottled creamy dessing and celery seeds. But I was craving a non creamy coleslaw.

Found this recipe on Pinterest, and it sounded perfect. Kinda surprised that there was no oil in the recipe, as I though if you weren't having creamy coleslaw, you were having oil and vinegar coleslaw. So no oil, only pantry items, sounds good!

Sweet, Tangy & Crunchy Coleslawrecipe adapted from Patio Daddio BBQ 

1 small green cabbage
3 carrots
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup distilled vinegar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp granulated onion
1/2 tsp black pepper, ground fresh 

Shred the cabbage and the carrots in a food processor.
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the cabbage and carrots and fold to coat it all.
Serve and enjoy!

Although next time I'd reduce the sugar, just a bit, this coleslaw was awesome. It was sweet and tangy, with a touch of lingering heat that I love! Very flavorful and fresh. Might be my new favorite quicky recipe... I mean not much more difficult that pouring on bottled sauce. And I always have all the ingredients on hand. I just wish I new how to keep the coleslaw from turning orange from the carrots. Do you have to shred them seperatly and let them dry a bit before combining with the cabbage? Seems like too much work...

SUMMER PASTA WITH TOMATOES AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE

We had this dish the other night at the request of my husband. His mom used to make it for him, and when he saw that we had the same cookbook she has, he requested it. I adapted it to use some of the things I had in the fridge that would have otherwise ended up in the trash. Although it's basically the same base ingredients as my typical pasta sauce, it's very different. It comes together really quickly and since it doesn't simmer for hours, it tastes very light and fresh. A perfect pasta dish for the summer.

Summer Pasta with Tomatoes and Italian Sausage
recipe adapted from Lighthearted Everyday Cooking by Anne Lindsay

1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 lb short pasta
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 package sliced mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 can (28 oz) chopped tomatoes with their juice
chopped fresh parsley
grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the Italian sausage on the BBQ. Slice thinly on an angle. Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente. Heat the oil in a large skillet, and add the onions, green pepper, mushrooms until the onions are tender. Season with garlic, basil, oregano and black pepper. Add the diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. Toss in cooked pasta and sliced sausages. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

A quick meal, that's relatively healthy and delicious!

PAD SEE EW

I miss eating out. I've been on maternity leave for over a year now, and I really miss going out for lunch. I work near a mall, therefore, near a food court. And no matter how many options I have, I mainly gravitate towards thai or japanese. I really miss thai food.

Although my oldest daughter used to eat pretty much anything, she's gotten really picky. And my husband, although not picky, prefers comfort food to pretty much anything else. But once in a while, when there are enough leftovers in the fridge so that the rest of my family can still have something they like, I make something that *I* want to eat.

We had a leftover pork tenderloin, broccoli and some greens in the fridge that needed to be eaten up. That, plus a couple of bottles of sauce and some rice noodles spelled out Pad See Ew for me! I had been using this recipe for a while, but I thought I could try a new one, see if it comes closer to the food court version that I love so much! And it was great! Saucy and salty, just spicy enough, could have been a touch sweeter, but still delish! And way less greasy than the take out version. If it wasn't for the crazy sodium content, it could almost pass as a healthy meal!

Pad See Ew

recipe adapted from Dorsey Kitchen

1/2 package wide rice noodles

some kind of leftover meat (I used leftover pork tenderloin)
some green veggies (I used broccoli and arugula)

4 tablespoons light soy sauce
4 tablespoons black soy sauce, dark soy sauce, or thick soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste
1-2 tablespoons sugar, to taste (I used 1 heaping tbsp)

2 tsp sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 large eggs at room temperature

Soak or cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. 

Chop your meat and vegetables. In a small bowl, combine the two soy sauces, the white pepper, red pepper flakes and sugar.

In a wok or a big frying pan, heat the 2 tsp sesame oil and drop in the minced garlic, stirring until fragrant. Add your veggies and your meat, cooking until the veggies are to your liking. Add the cooked noodles to the pan. Pour some of the sauce over the noodles and stir until they are nicely coated. You may not need to use all of the sauce. Taste as you go. Push the noodles to one side of the pan so you have room to scramble your eggs. Crack your eggs into the pan, and stir them around until they are cooked. Stir everything together, serve, and eat!

I got 3 big servings out of that recipe. And for the record, by husband had some and said it was almost delicious. Good enough for me!

APRICOT GLAZED BBQ PORK TENDERLOIN

Although I never make them, I love recipes for ribs and wings. I find the ribs too fatty, and wings not worth the trouble. But usually, the rubs, marinades and sauces that flavor and glaze the meat can be used for other cuts of meat, such as chicken thighs, and  in this case, pork tenderloin.

This is my go to recipe for pork tenderloin, cut out from a Rachael Ray magazine years and years ago. Months later I bought her magazine again because of delicious looking ribs on the cover, and surprise surprise, it was the same recipe I had cut out months back. I hate when they do that! When I buy a magazine, I expect fresh content! In any case, this pork tenderloin recipe, adapted from a baby back ribs recipe is an amazingly easy recipe that yields super tender, flavorful

Apricot Glazed  BBQ Pork Tenderloin

recipe adapted from Adam Perry Lang via Rachael Ray

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp peach-flavor gelatin
3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp mustard

2 pork tenderloins

1/4 cup store-bought barbecue sauce
2 tbsp apricot preserves

Preheat the grill until it's nice and hot. Mix all the rub ingredients together. Trim the tenderloins and coat with the rub. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the apricot glaze. Remove half of the glaze to a small bowl to serve with the pork.

Grill the pork until an instant thermometer reaches 145-150 degrees. In the last few minutes of cooking, brush the meat with the half the glaze. Remove pork from grill, and let it rest, covered with foil, for 5 minutes. Slice pork and serve with reserved apricot glaze.