The Best Pasta Sauce Ever

The Best Pasta Sauce Ever

I generally consider myself to be a humble home cook. However, this pasta sauce is absolutely the BEST pasta sauce I have ever made and possibly the best pasta sauce I have ever tasted. So there.

This sauce was so delicious that I transferred it to a glass jar just to see how good it would look when I decide to market it to the masses. Doesn't that look amazing? Ahhh... but now I am kidding. Truthfully, it was so easy to make the Best Pasta Sauce Ever that I will quickly share the steps so that you, too, can wow your friends and family. In fact, the kiddos' sitter really did not believe that I made it. I was kind of flattered - but then I was concerned ... does she think I am not really that good of a cook? Hmmm...

Anyone can make this sauce and it will take you about 20 or 30 minutes - possibly less time than it takes you to boil water and cook your pasta. Get going!

We use a lot of garlic here

Ingredients:  

2 slices of bacon, chopped
5 or 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large tomatoes (fresh and local will make you the best sauce), chopped

Tiny, tiny pieces of zucchini

1 zucchini, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
A few leaves fresh basil, finely chopped
A tiny pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh ground pepper, a few turns
A shake or two of kosher salt

Directions: 

Fry the 2 slices of bacon in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the onion and then the garlic and cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes and the seasonings. Stir constantly, mashing the tomatoes as they cook so that it all starts to resemble pasta sauce. Add the finely chopped zucchini and continue stirring and cooking.  

Add the chopped onion to the crispy bacon

Chopped tomatoes ... ready for some gentle mashing

I have read many, many spaghetti sauce recipes and they all involve hours of simmering. I am certain that hours of simmering will result in excellent sauce, however, I don't always have hours of time on our hands to devote to that kind of cooking. This pasta sauce has a fresh taste - the zucchini is even still green when it is served over the pasta! These tomatoes came from Mac Edgerton's farm in Rutherfordton, NC. While I can still get my hands on some of this local goodness, I might have to devote an afternoon to making some extra to enjoy this winter and give us all a little taste of summer when summer is long gone.

Chopped Veggie Lasagna

Chopped Veggie Lasagna

Now that school is back in session, for me and my children, I need to plan some easy weeknight meals that can almost cook themselves. Lasagna is a great meal for a school night because you can prepare it in the morning or the night before and keep it in the fridge or, if you are super ambitious, make a couple at a time and freeze them uncooked until you are in need of something ready-made. Lasagna tastes better after it cools down a bit after baking so you can pop this in the oven a couple of hours ahead of dinner time and you don't have to think about it. Take it out of the oven when it is done cooking, cover it with foil, and let it sit until you are ready to eat it. Couldn't be easier!

This week seems to be zucchini week in my house! I have made a chocolate zucchini banana bread, zucchini and pork stir fry and now a chopped veggie lasagna - star ingredient: zucchini, of course!

Ingredients:

9 lasagna noodles (I used gluten free)
1 large jar of spaghetti sauce or 4 to 5 large tomatoes, chopped
5 or 6 cloves garlic
1 large onion, sliced
2 zucchini, chopped
3 small eggplant, chopped (I used fairytale eggplant)
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Onion, garlic, and tomatoes

1 pound crumbled sausage, cooked (optional)

Directions:

1. Veggie layer: Saute the garlic cloves and onion in a little bit of olive oil. Add the chopped zucchini and eggplant and cook until tender. Set aside.

2. Make the sauce: In the same pan, add the chopped tomatoes and cook them over medium until they start to resemble spaghetti sauce. Mash them a bit with your spoon to crush them as you cook them. Add some salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and any other Italian seasoning you have on hand. I used an Italian seasoning blend to make it easy! If you don't want to make your own sauce, by all means grab a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce and skip this step.

Chopped fairytale eggplant and baby zucchinis

Ricotta, mozzarella, and egg

3. Cheesy Layer: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups ricotta cheese, 1 egg, and about 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella. I recommend that you shred your own mozzarella - delicious! - but if you have pre-shredded in the house, use that! During this step, I also like to grind some fresh pepper and throw some coarse sea salt in with the cheese to give it some extra flavor.

4. Spoon some sauce on the bottom of a large 9 x 12 pan. Layer 3 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. (Nope, I did not precook my noodles! I am a rebel!) Spoon about 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the noodles and smooth out evenly. If you are using sausage, sprinkle about 1/2 of the sausage over the cheese and about 1/2 of the cooked veggies.

The first two layers ... sauce and then noodles (uncooked!)

A few more layers...

5. Generously cover the veggie and sausage layer with tomato sauce. Cover with three lasagna noodles. Spread the remaining cheese over the noodles. Top with sausage and veggies. Spoon spaghetti sauce over these ingredients but save a large spoonful of sauce.

6. Cover with three more lasagna noodles. Spoon the last of the sauce over these noodles. Sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella.

7. Cook at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. You can cover the lasagna with foil for the first 30 minutes and then cook it uncovered for the remaining time if you don't like your top layer to be too crunchy. We served this with a delicious salad and there were plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day. Enjoy!!

This week's star local NC ingredients ... Globe onions from Ann & Russ's Garden, tomatoes and fairy tale eggplants from Edgerton Farm, baby zucchinis from Charlene's Garden, garlic from Adawehi Farm, and sausage from Glenreid Farm  ... gluten-free lasagna noodles found at Earth Fare ... can't help but take advantage of all this great NC produce in August!! What an abundance!

Curried Chicken Salad

Curried Chicken Salad

I love to roast a chicken every once in a while - it is so easy and delicious and it also provides leftover meat to make chicken salad the next day. Bonus!

B.C. (before children) I used to buy a rotisserie chicken on Sunday night from the Star Market in lovely Allston, Massachusetts, take it home, rip it apart, and make enough chicken salad to last a couple of days. Alas, those days are long gone! When I make chicken salad now, I have to do so very, very quietly so as not to attract too much attention from the little people. If we are lucky, my husband and I can eat it all before the kids hear us... that doesn't happen too often.

Chicken salad is so versatile! First of all it is naturally gluten free and involves just a few ingredients. This is simple enough for an afternoon snack but nice enough to serve for lunch with friends. You can even make it with just a little bit of mayo if you want to keep it super simple. I enjoy adding a few other ingredients to spice it up and this week I decided to make a curried chicken salad. My kids have been on a big raisin kick recently so I have been snacking on them as well. Why not put raisins into a chicken salad?

Ingredients: 


Leftover cooked chicken, chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 vidalia onion or red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup (or less) mayonnaise
Kosher Salt
1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

For this chicken salad, I cut up all the chicken that was left over from my delicious roaster chicken from C-Saw Hill Farm and set it aside in a big bowl. I thinly sliced and then chopped about 1/2 of a small vidalia onion and 2 stalks of celery. I added the onion and the celery to the bowl of chicken and lightly tossed the ingredients together. I then added a large tablespoon of mayonnaise (I don't like too much mayo on my chicken salad) and then gave it a stir until the chicken, celery, and onion were evenly coated with the mayonnaise. After combining these first ingredients with the mayo, I added some kosher salt and about 1 to 2 teaspoons of curry powder. Gently stir and then add in a generous handful (or more) of raisins.

Serve as a sandwich, on a pretty bed of lettuce or, if you are like me, just eat it right out of the bowl! Enjoy!

Creamy Black Bean and Corn Dip

What do you discuss in the pool on a hot summer day? If you happen to be hanging out with me and my kiddos, there is a good chance that I will somehow turn the conversation to food. Last week, I needed some super-quick ideas for easy and appealing appetizers. My friend, Michelle, suggested that I make a spicy corn dip. It sounded delicious but by the time I got home I forgot exactly what was supposed to go into the spicy corn dip and so I concocted a slight variation on Michelle's suggestion ... I served this dip with salty lime tortilla chips. Yum.

Corn - ready to meet the others...

Ingredients: 

About 1 cup of corn
1 can black beans, drained
4 ounces sour cream (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 scallions, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

Directions: 
Combine all the ingredients into one bowl! Stir and let the flavors come together. I let my dip sit in the fridge for a few hours before the party and there was still a little bit left for leftovers the next day and it still tasted great. Serve with chips. Enjoy!

Peach Sangria

Peach Sangria

One of my fun discoveries since moving to Charlotte has been the game of Bunco. Every month, 12 ladies gather at a different house and play this dice game that requires absolutely no skill - only the ability to roll three dice with one hand, hold your glass of wine in the other, and maintain a conversation with the other ladies at your table.

Our bunco group rotates from house to house each month - this month it was my turn to host. I spent the afternoon preparing some appetizers and desserts but the highlight of the evening was to be my peach sangria. Local peaches are in abundance down here this time of year so this is a perfect recipe that uses some delicious in-season fruit. (The peaches I used for this sangria came from Sunnyside Orchard out in Rutherfordton, NC. If you find yourself out that way, you definitely need to stop by for some homemade ice cream!)

Unfortunately, this month's bunco night went a little awry... Due to a power outage (that lasted the entire evening!) not only was I unable to finish preparing some of my food, I was also unable to actually see where I had hidden various  plates of goodies. Alas, the girls didn't seem to care and the peach sangria was good enough to help us forget the muggy weather, the lack of lights, and the missing food.


Next time I will double this recipe ... we definitely didn't have enough!

Chopped peaches ready to be pureed

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 bottles of white wine
3/4 cup peach Schnappes
18 ounces pineapple juice (3 small cans)
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup (or so) sugar
2 peaches, 1 peeled and chopped, 1 sliced
12 grapes, halved

Peach puree

Directions: 


Take one large peach, peel it, chop it, and puree it in your food processor. Add the pureed peach to the white wine, peach Schnappes, pineapple juice, orange juice, and sugar in a large pitcher. Stir well. Add the other peach that has been thinly sliced and the grapes. Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours.

When you are ready to serve it, add a handful (or two) of ice cubes to the pitcher. Serve over ice in wine glasses. Enjoy!

Bunco and snacks by candlelight...

Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

We had four beautiful butternut squash hanging out on the counter and our babysitter requested butternut squash soup - how could I say no?

I was able to start this soup early in the day while the house was relatively sane. I chopped up 2 large butternut squash and steamed them over an inch or so of water for about 20 minutes. I let the squash sit patiently in the pan until I was ready to turn it into soup hours later for dinner.

Ingredients: 

2 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 carton vegetable broth (about 4 cups)
1 onion, diced
3 to 5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 dash of crushed red pepper
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
A lot of freshly ground pepper

Recommended ... 1 to 2 tablespoons garlic herb blend (I got mine from Greene Family Farm)
Optional ... A little cream or half and half

Directions: 

Butternut squash ... ready to be steamed

1. Steam the butternut squash ... (Click here for a refresher on preparing butternut squash)

2. Saute the onion and garlic in a large heavy bottomed pan until the onion is translucent - you want to choose a pan that will work for simmering the soup later.

3. Combine the steamed butternut squash, onion, and garlic in a food processor or blender. If you use a blender, you will want to add some of the broth to help the blender do its thing.

4. After the squash and onions have been pureed, put the squash back into the heavy bottomed soup pot and add the remaining broth, a dash or two of crushed red pepper, 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt, and many, many turns of your pepper grinder. I also added a generous tablespoon of a new herb blend I bought at our virtual farmers market from the Greene Family Farm - it was a delicious combination of basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. It added a lot of flavor to the soup and gave it a nice "herby" look when it was done cooking.

5. I brought the soup up to a boil and then turned it to low to simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. Taste it often to see if it has the flavor you are looking for. If you are concerned about the heat, you can skip the crushed red pepper and only add it to individual bowls to give the adults a kick but spare the kids! My kiddos ate up this soup but they definitely asked for more milk to combat the spicy!

We added a little swirl of cream... 

6. We added a little swirl of cream to each bowl of soup to make it a little bit creamier. Yum! We served our soup with a beautiful salad and, those who could, ate it with delicious spelt baguettes from Adawehi Farm. Delicious. Enjoy!

Skillet Ratatouille

Eat the rainbow! 

Ratatouille is the hot vegetarian side dish of the moment. Really. Would I lie to you? When your weekly farmers market loot resembles the rainbow on my cutting board (left), how could you not want to showcase as many seasonal vegetables as possible? This recipe allows you to use whatever combination of squash, tomatoes, and eggplant that you might have on hand.

Ratatouille (rat - a - too - ee) is originally a French dish and the translation is very roughly "Eggplant Casserole." The French word for eggplant is aubergine (not quite a match...) but the French word for "stir" or "twirl" is touiller so that part of the word makes sense in that this recipe stirs a lot of veggies together.  

Skillet Ratatouille

If you cook this ratatouille in the traditional Julia Child style, you will not end up with bright veggies like the ones in my photo (right). The traditional method of preparing ratatouille involves individually cooking all of the components and then combining them into a casserole and letting the flavors come together until the flavors are heightened but the color is quite dull. That approach takes far too long for me! And, when your vegetables look so bright and colorful, I hate to cook the life (and the nutrients) out of them. 

Pattypan squash

This modern-day version of ratatouille only takes about 15 minutes to make on the stove. It shares some similarity with the traditional version in that you can let it sit for hours and it will just get better and better. Trust me. The Grill Master promised me that he would be home really early so we could have a family dinner. Not so much... however, the ratatouille held up very well just sitting in a covered pan on the stove for a couple of hours. 

Directions: 

This recipe is one of those recipes that isn't much of a recipe - substitute veggies as needed... 

Oregano by the back door

I chopped up one large white eggplant. 3 small pattypan squash, 1 large onion, 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, and 3 tomatoes. I gently sauteed all of the vegetables together in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, tossed in a bay leaf and some fresh oregano, sprinkled a little bit of sea salt over the top, and let it simmer on very low for about 15 minutes. I was trying to get the veggies to be very tender yet still retain their bright colors. About 15 minutes did the trick and I kept an eye on it the entire time. 

As I mentioned above, I set this aside for about 2 hours and it tasted great! We served our skillet ratatouille with burgers from the grill. It was a really nice and simple side dish for a weeknight meal. Enjoy!  

Indian Eggplant and Tomato Casserole

Indian Eggplant and Tomato Casserole

I had a few eggplants and a bunch of ugly tomatoes sitting on my counter and I knew I needed to do something with them pretty quickly before the tomato and/or eggplant pile grew even more as my garden continues to produce delicious veggies for us this month. This simple Indian Eggplant and Tomato Casserole is a great summer recipe to use some in-season veggies and it's also a perfect "meatless Monday" meal to start your week! 

We don't necessarily follow a meatless Monday rule around here but we certainly do eat quite a bit of vegetarian fare throughout the week. You might have heard the reports issued recently about the fact that eating less meat (specifically non-local beef) can be better for the environment than reducing the amount of time spent in your car. While this observation isn't new and it does give us some food for thought... what is even more important than reducing the amount of steaks you might be eating with your family at the next barbecue is to actually eat everything in your refrigerator (or on your counter) before you go to the store or farmers market to buy more food.

A few of my "ugly" tomatoes

The average American family throws away about 25% of their weekly grocery purchase. That number is mind-boggling. I used to be guilty of running to the store 2 or 3 times a week just to "grab one thing" because I had "nothing" in the house to cook for dinner. Four small kiddos put the kibbosh on that bad habit and I quickly learned that, unless my cupboards were truly bare, I really did have enough ingredients in the house to make something for dinner. (To read a very short article from the New York Times Health section on the topic of food waste, click here.)

People often ask me if I have a recipe system or use a weekly menu to help make my nightly dinners easier and I have tried that approach many times but I found that I always wasted food. My grandmother, born in 1920, had a phrase that she heard often as a child and repeated it to her children and grandchildren .. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." This eggplant tomato casserole recipe is a perfect example of using up what I have.  It might take a little practice to get comfortable with this maverick cooking style, but once you get used to it, I think you will love it.

Assorted Eggplant from Edgerton Farm

Ingredients: 


2 to 3 eggplants, sliced in thin circles
A bunch of tomatoes, chopped (6 medium)
2 small onions, chopped
4 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 cups (or so) shredded mozzarella

Directions: 

I took a couple of the eggplants (delicious specimens from Edgerton Farm) sitting on my counter and sliced them thinly, sprinkling them with a little salt and layering them on a cookie sheet so they could "sweat" a bit. I chopped up a couple of small onions and garlic and all the ugly tomatoes that were lounging around on my counter. By ugly tomato, I mean those tomatoes that are either bruised or split or partially green. If you have a garden, I'm sure you know what I am talking about! While it would be nice if every tomato I grew came out perfectly round and vibrantly red, the truth is far from that. However, once you chop these up and start cooking, no one will ever know they started out less than pretty.

Layers of tomato sauce, eggplant, and cheese

I lightly sauteed the onions and garlic, adding all the chopped tomatoes and about 1 tablespoon of garam masala - a delicious Indian spice that you can probably get at your grocery store. I have found garam masala here in Charlotte at my local Harris Teeter and Earth Fare. The house took on a wonderful aroma. I cooked my tomatoes over medium heat, lightly breaking them up as they cooked, until I had basically created my own Indian-spiced, slightly chunky, tomato sauce.

Taking a large, round casserole, I took a spoonful of tomato sauce and spread it around the bottom. I layered the sliced eggplant over top and added a little more tomato sauce. I sprinkled shredded mozzarella cheese over the sauce and repeated my layers - eggplant, sauce, cheese - until I had used up all of my ingredients.

This dish was a wedding gift ... I need to use it more!

Make sure your last layer is cheese, pop it in the oven at 350 degrees and let it cook for about 30 minutes. My children had thirds! Don't expect any leftovers unless you increase the ingredients and cook it in a lasagna pan. Enjoy!

Basil and Mozzarella Stuffed Tomatoes

Basil and Mozzarella Stuffed Tomato

If you stop by my house, there is a very good chance there will be something for you to taste-test. Just ask my friend, Melissa. Melissa was the official taste tester of the basil and mozzarella stuffed tomatoes the other day. She supposedly "just stopped by" to pick up some farm fresh Amish eggs (I'm the neighborhood distributor...) but we all know that she was hoping there was something cooking in my kitchen. It was her lucky day - I got to hold her cute new baby and she got to sit down and eat for five entire minutes in peace. Beautiful.

This simple recipe is just so darn cute! Between the tomatoes from Mac Edgerton's farm and the tomatoes from my humble little garden out back, I knew that these beautiful tomatoes could be more useful than just simply chopped up and tossed together or layered like a traditional caprese salad.

Ingredients: 

Tomatoes - 1 per person
Mozzarella - about 1 to 2 ounces per person
Basil leaves - a handful
Balsamic vinegar - a splash
Olive oil - a splash
Sea salt or kosher salt - to add a little crunch

Directions: 

Remove the core from the tomato and chop it up into small bite-sized pieces. Chop the mozzarella so that it is the same size. Roll the basil leaves together and bring your knife through all the leaves at once to create little strips of basil. Toss the ingredients together, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and  add a dash of salt. Transfer the combo back into the hollowed out tomato and enjoy!

Use a paring knife to hollow out the core of the tomato

Honey Mango Milkshake

For dinner last night, I chopped up a little bit of leftover curried chicken and tossed that on our pizzas to give our dinner a little kick. To accompany our "Indian" style pizza, I made a slight variation on a traditional Indian drink, the Mango Lassie. This is such an easy milkshake and it is relatively good for you! Not that my kiddos seemed to be thinking about the health benefits as they drank this up as fast as they could. As you can see, it was enjoyed by all ages...

Honey Mango Milkshake

Ingredients: 

2 cups mango chunks (I used slightly frozen mango)
1 cup skim milk
1 container (about 8 ounces) vanilla Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a blender! Easy peasy!

A few extra details ... I like using semi-frozen fruit because it gives the milkshake a nice texture although you could use fresh if you have it on hand. I love buying local honey and always try to keep some around - the honey we used for this recipe was picked up at the Davidson Farmers Market a few weeks ago. I prefer to use Greek yogurt because it is about twice as thick as regular yogurt (and with twice as much protein).