Posts Tagged ‘sauce’

This recipe is from http://www.lifesambrosia.com, another of my favorite sites. I didn’t make the wings to go along with this, maybe another time. The chipotles you will find in the Mexican section of your grocery store. It’s in a little can. I used a blender instead of a food processer since my blender is a dead sexy Breville. I also used 2 limes instead of one and threw in a couple pinches of garlic powder.

Chipotle Lime Dipping Sauce

Ingrediants:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Combine mayonnaise, chipotle peppers, lime juice, vinegar and kosher salt in a food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Easy! This makes just enough for a couple servings. I’ll eat this with my home made chicken fingers tonight.

Another favorite sauce in this house is Teriyaki Sauce. I use it on fish and when I make Teriyaki Chicken with the leftover meat of a whole roasted chicken.

Teriyaki Sauce

Makes about two cups

¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
2 cups water
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

Whisk together cornstarch and ¼ cup cold water in medium size saucepan. Whisk in remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until sauce thickens.

Cool and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to cut back on processed foods as much as I can. Only by leading by example will I get my family to eat healthier. That and sticking to our monthly meal plan. I bought this book by Mary Ostyn to help me do just that. The beginning of the book is full of money saving ways for food shopping. Much of this I already do and we are right around 75 or less dollars a week for groceries (shopping once a month, picking up fresh stuff as needed every week). The second half of the book is full of wonderful recipes.  So far I have tried out two of them. The teriyaki sauce is less salty and more flavorful than store bought. I put it on salmon last night and let it bake in. I also spooned some of it into the rice I made for the side. It was a hit in the house. Next time I’ll add more to the salmon since the fish is already strong, the teriyaki didn’t shine through as much as it did in the rice. The sauce may separate in the fridge after cooling, just shake to mix it up again.

Teriyaki Sauce
Makes about two cups
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
2 cups water
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
Whisk together cornstarch and ¼ cup cold water in medium size saucepan. Whisk
in remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until
sauce thickens. Cool and store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Tomato based pasta sauce is easy to make, inexpensive, and can be suited to your tastes. Besides the Italian herbs and spices, I only add onions and fresh garlic to the sauce. This makes it versatile. I add meatballs or sausage when I reheat it later to the dish I’m making. Hubby isn’t a big veggie fan so I stick to onions and garlic. I make big batches of this and freeze them in 4 cup containers. One container is perfect for spaghetti dishes, two for baked rigatoni or stuffed shells. If you forget to defrost the sauce, you can still warm it up fairly quickly in a pan on medium low. I buy my tomato sauce in bulk at Costco as well as the tomato paste.

Homemade Pasta Sauce

1 large can of tomato sauce

2-3 small cans of tomato paste

Italian seasoning to taste or:

Rosemary

Thyme

Basil

Oregano

Marjoram

Salt

2 Bay leaves

2 onions

5 garlic cloves

In a large stock pot pour in the tomato sauce. Add 2-3 cans of tomato paste. Turn the burner to medium and stir to combine. Add the seasonings to your preference. Put in the bay leaves then close the lid.

In a saute pan set on medium heat, add enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. While this is heating up, dice 2 onions. Add them to the pan and stir.  While the onions are sauteing, chop 5 garlic cloves. Add them to the saute pan just as the onions begin to brown. Stir for about a minute, then add the onions and garlic to the sauce.

Stir everything together then give it another taste. Add more spices or salt if needed. Cover, turn to medium low, and let it cook for 3o  minutes.

After cooking for 30 minutes, remove the bay leaves and place your sauce in containers to freeze. These keep well for six months or more and taste as if you just made it.