Pasta

Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce

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Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce

Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce

This is not your grandma’s tomato sauce recipe. And Bonus -There is no need for boiling, peeling, or seeding the tomatoes for this sauce!

I make this slow cooker tomato sauce every year because we love homegrown tomatoes and I always plant too many tomato plants.

This recipe makes about four (4) quarts of sauce. I freeze it and give it to my friends and family and then we have a taste of summer even in the middle of our Michigan winter. We use this as a pasta sauce, add some Parmesan cheese after you warm it, or add a little cream and eat it as a soup with grilled cheese. So delish!

 

Tomatos

Cut Fresh Tomatoes

Tools

•       Slow cooker / Crock Pot
•       Cutting board
•       Large knife
•       12” sauté pan
•       High powered Blender
•       Butchers twine (optional)
•       Ladle
•       Kitchen towel
•       Saucepan
•       Quart sized zip-top freezer bags
•       Cookie sheet (optional)

Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce-Ingredients

◦       One large onion chopped ( about 2 cups)
◦       One large carrot or two small carrots cut into chunks
◦       Tablespoon of minced garlic

Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce

MMM Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce

◦        a cup or so of fresh herbs like basil thyme and oregano I make a BOUQUET GARNI*
◦       2 teaspoons of salt
◦       1 teaspoon of pepper
◦       2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
◦       half teaspoon of garlic powder
◦       half a teaspoon turmeric
◦       1/4 cup of water or wine
◦       12 cups of chopped tomatoes-about 12 tomatoes

 

RECIPE Directions

1.      Sauté the chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. On medium-high heat. You want a hard sear on them to get some brown color. It will take about 10 minutes.
2.      just add all the other ingredients into your slow cooker. Remove any bad spots on your tomatoes and remove the stem/core of your tomato and roughly chop them.
3.      Set your slow cooker to buy for four hours or low for 6 to 8 until all the vegetables are broken down and soft.
4.      Fill your blender halfway full of your tomato mixture. Cover the top of your blender with a kitchen towel and your hand.  When you put hot liquid into a blender it expands and may take the top

Onions

Onions Cooking

off DO NOT OVERFILL YOUR BLENDER WITH HOT LIQUID.  If you are worried then let your mixture cool overnight and blend it the next day.
5.      Blend sauce until smooth. Pour your sauce into your saucepot and stir to combine. Refrigerate for up to one week**

**DELISHTIPS

  • I like to freeze the sauce in zip-top freezer bags. I fill them full and push the air out and freeze them flat on cookie sheets. That way they stack easily in my freezer and I have tomato sauce all winter long.

 

  • A BOUQUET GARNI is simply a bunch of herbs tied with butcher twine so that you can just lift the herbs out easily when they are done. You do not have to use this for the recipe you can just pick out the herbs after the sauce is done.
slow cooker tomato sauce

Freeze up the slow cooker tomato sauce

Hamburger Macaroni Skillet – Easy Quarantine Dish

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MMM!

I love this kind of recipe. Uncomplicated, very few ingredients, plus it’s comforting and homey.  This recipe came from my mom. She taught me how to make it  years ago and when I taste it it makes me think of her and makes me feel like a little kid again. That’s what I love about cooking; The recipes can bring back memories. I just made this Hamburger Macaroni Skillet the other night and it is always a huge hit with my daughter and husband. This is also an easy one pot meal and you can doubled the recipe easily to serve a crowd or a family larger than 4.

Tools

  • large non-stick skillet with lid
  • wooden spoon
  • can opener
  • liquid measuring cup
  • cutting board
  • sharp knife
  • container to drain grease
  • Large metal spoon

Ingredients                                                                                                                  

  • One pound of ground beef*
  • One can of condensed tomato soup
  • One cup of uncooked elbow macaroni
  • One can of water (from the soup can)
  • One teaspoon of garic powder
  • 1/4 cup of diced white onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried herb blend
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1/4 cup of 2% milk–OPTIONAL

Recipe

Brown your ground beef over medium high heat. Drain excess grease into your heatproof container or jar. Dice your onion and add to the ground beef along with the condensed soup and water. Stir until the soup and water are well mixed into the beef. Add the macaroni and spices and stir well. Cover and bring to a simmer (little bubbles) for 30 minutes.  I like to take the lid off around 20 minutes and use the wooden spoon to  scrape any of the macaroni that might get stuck on the bottom. Replace the lid until time reachers 30 minutes. Test pasta for doneness (eat one!). I like to leave the lid off for a minute and stir in the 1/4 cup of milk. It makes the dish a little silkier. Let it cool for 5 minutes and serve.

DELISH TIP 1: You can use Ground Chuck and sometimes I do because it’s more affordable but it gives off a lot more grease than sirloin.  I’ve also used ground turkey.

DELISH TIP 2: My husband likes to top his with parmesean cheese!

Tuna Noodle Comfort Casserole

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This is the utmost in comfort foods! This tuna casserole is the first dish I ever cooked. I was 12 or 13 and my mom who was a nurse got moved to afternoon shift until midnight, so  she taught me how to make this and I made it once a week all of my teen years so it gave her a break from cooking. When  I met my boyfriend David, now my husband, I made this for him too it really is a family favorite!  Our daughter Emily loves it. We don’t eat a lot of regular pasta anymore so it’s kind of a treat. In Michigan today the weather started out at 55 at 7 am and started snowing and 23 by 5 pm. So this was comfort we needed today! I suppose if you were from Minnesota you would call this recipe Hot Dish.

Tools                                                                    

  • 2 1/2 quart casserole pan
  • medium sized pot
  • large pan*
  • colander
  • wooden spoon
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • pot holders

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of  elbow macaroni
  • 1 can (10.5 oz) of cream of mushroom soup
  • 8 oz of cheddar cheese shredded
  • 5 oz can of tuna in water, drained
  • 1 Tablespoon of dried minced onion*
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1/2 cup of fresh mushrooms, chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 cup of  frozen peas
  • 3 teaspoons of salt*
  • 1/2 teaspoon of pepper

Recipe

Put your water on to boil. Salt your water with 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook pasta 8 minutes or to directions on the box. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Combine tuna, soup, dried onion, mushrooms, milk, salt, pepper and frozen peas and ALL BUT 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese in the saucepan and cook on low heat until melty. Drain pasta and mix into the sauce. Pour into your casserole pan and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered.  Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

DELISHTIP 1— If I have them you can add crunched up potato chips on top of the cheese if you like.

DELISHTIP 2–If you don’t have dried minced onion just use 1/4 cup of fresh diced onion.

Fried Spaghetti

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image     When I was a little girl my neighbor used to make this dish for us after we swam in the pool all day. Just like Fried Rice uses leftover rice you HAVE to use leftover spaghetti for this dish. It was my favorite as a child because only my neighbor made it for us in the summer time when his grandchildren would come and stay with him. When he passed away I never had it again. I hadn’t even thought about it until I had a child of my own and we had leftover spaghetti. I remembered it and I made it for her and she LOVES it. I don’t know what it is about it,  but when you get these crispy bits of pasta and this buttery tomato sauce it turns from Spaghetti to something completely different. This is not really a recipe but simply an idea and technique. I’ve never heard of anyone else whose ever had it so I hope you enjoy. By the way you’ll definitely need a napkin or two its messy!

Tools

  • Saute pan
  • Large spatula
  • apron for splatters

Ingredients

  •  TBS olive oil
  •  2 TBS butter
  • 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan cheese*
  • 3 Cups of Leftover Spaghetti with sauce*
  • Fresh basil (optional)

Recipe

Heat the butter and olive oil in your sauté pan over medium heat. When butter is bubbling add your leftover spaghetti. Press the spaghetti around in the pan so it is in a thin layer. Do NOT move the spaghetti for 4 minutes, this is what makes the crispy bits.  Keep an eye on it the butter and oil should bubble around the edges of the spaghetti. Flip the spaghetti over in sections and mix it up a bit. Then push flat again for 3 minutes. Top the spaghetti with Parmesan cheese so it gets melty. You can either slide it out of the pan whole and cut wedges or retoss in the pan and plate up. Top with more cheese and fresh basil if desired.

DELISH TIP 1-Your spaghetti and the sauce need to be mixed together the night before as the pasta will absorb overnight. I’ve tried mixing it together the next day and it doesn’t work. I’ve tried it with linguine too but Spaghetti works the best. If you have  a lot leftover use more butter and/or olive oil.

DELISH TIP 2— This is a “Loose” recipe meaning the amount of spaghetti you have leftover may be different than mine. You may not need to cook yours as long as mine depending on how much sauce you have in your spaghetti. I like super crispy bits in my dish, if you don’t like that than don’t cook for as long.  If you have more sauce than cook a bit longer and add more cheese.

DELISH TIP 3— I ALWAYS fresh grate my cheese now. Cellulose is inside pre-grated cheese– I don’t want wood fibers in my cheese but that’s just me :).

 

 

Mozzarella Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta

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This is a quick and easy dish to prepare and of course, it’s DELISH!!

I use My basil pesto in it too. YUM!

This recipe serves 6 but you could easily double this for a crowd.

Tools:

Large saute pan

Stockpot to boil pasta

2 1/2 qt. casserole pan

 

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz of Angel Hair pasta
  • 1/2 cup of diced onion
  • 2 cloves of minced garlic
  • 3 chicken breasts – Butterflied
  • 24 0z jar of spaghetti sauce
  • 4-6 cubes of Julie’s Pesto (optional)
  • 6 slices of mozzarella
  • TBS of olive oil
  • S & P

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Put the pot on to boil Angel Hair pasta.  Set saute’ pan on medium high. Sprinkle chicken breasts with S&P and brown it, about 3 minutes a side. Remove to a plate.  Add onion and the garlic and saute for 2 minutes until fragrant. Pop out 4 frozen pesto cubes to the saute’ pan. They will melt quickly.image

Don’t forget to salt your pasta water. Only cook pasta for 3 minutes then drain it and add it to the onions and pesto.  Add 3/4 jar of spaghetti sauce and stir to combine.

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Put your saucy pasta in the bottom of a casserole dish. Place chicken breasts on top of the pasta. Put a Tbs or so of spaghetti sauce on top of each breast and then top with sliced mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.

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