Tomato Sauce

We are finally getting some tomatoes out of our garden. Here is a fast and easy sauce recipe that makes about a quart. I make it when I have time or tomatoes and put it in a quart jar in the fridge to use on a busy night. The second recipe is a great freezer recipe for sauce that I've used for several years.

Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

To keep the garlic from burning, start the olive oil and garlic in a cold pan. Add a pinch of sugar to the cooked sauce if your tomatoes aren't as sweet as you'd like.

3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds tomateos-- cored, peeled, and diced in large chunks
salt
pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Stir oil and garlic together in cold pan. Turn heat to medium and cook until garlic is sizzling and fragrant, about 2 miinutes. Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a rapid simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, reducing heat if sauce begins to stick to bottom of pan, until thickened and chunky, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spaghetti Sauce (freezer)

4 lb Tomatoes,Peeled
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lg Sweet Onion,Finely Chopped
3 ea Garlic,Minced
1/2 c Cooking Wine
1/4 c Tomato Paste
1 t Sugar
1 t Salt
2 Bay Leaf
1/3 c Italian Parsley
1/4 t Pepper

Heat olive oil, add garlic and onions, wine and cook until reduced by half. Add tomatoes, paste, sugar, salt, bay leaves and boil for 1 hour. Stir in pepper and parsley. Load into freezer bags. I like to stack the bags in a cake pan to keep them level while they freeze, then they're nice and flat to store later.

When serving, stir in additional italian seasoning, enchilada seasoning, or dill and cream when reheating.

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Pizza and Bruschetta

More successes from our international cooking. Last night was Italian!

Bruschetta with Gorgonzola and Honey

36 slices (1/2-inch thick) baguette bread, about 1 loaf
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces Gorgonzola, sliced
3 tablespoons honey
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Arrange the sliced baguette on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil. Bake until the bread is pale golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Arrange the cheese on the toasts and bake until the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes. Drizzle the toasts with honey. Place on a serving platter and serve immediately.

Pizza Dough

1 c Warm Water
3/4 t Salt
1 T Sugar
1 t Yeast
1 T Olive Oil
2 1/2 c Flour

Combine water, salt and sugar, then add yeast. Add oil and flour.
Knead til soft. Let sit 30 minutes. Makes 1 large crust.

chicken scampi

The "real" recipe is below, but most of the time I don't have real butter, wine or heavy cream on hand (because I don't like to cook with those kind a calories) So here is my version of the recipe with out sacrificing the flavor.

Heat a little oil in a skillet, when hot add chicken (the little tenderloins are easiest, but if I don't have them, I'll just cut up full breast into strips) Season with pepper, lemon pepper, garlic, basil and the juice of a 1/2 a lemon (or a T from a bottle of lemon juice) Once the chicken is almost all the way cooked, add a bag of tricolored bell peppers. (and red onion if you have it)

Next put your angel hair pasta in boiling water.

For the SAUCE: I use what I have on hand; last night it was a cup or so of sour cream (any kind of cream, yogurt, thickened milk works) 4- 6 T of light margarine, The juice of a 1/2 a lemon (or a T or so from a bottle of lemon juice) 4 cloves of garlic minced, just under a T of black pepper and then salt to taste. Combine Chicken, angel hair pasta and sauce, then serve immediately.

(I did not have a purple/red onion, but it adds a ton of flavor and would suggest adding it to your shopping list)

So now, here is the real Olive Garden Chicken Scampi Recipe,

Scampi Sauce

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons chopped onion

1/4 cup minced garlic (8 to 12 cloves)

1 1/2 cups Chablis wine

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

1 cup heavy cream

5 to 6 quarts water

16 ounces angel hair pasta

4 tablespoons light olive oil

12 chicken tenderloins

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 green bell pepper, cut into bite-size strips

1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-size strips

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-size strips

1 chopped red onion

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

Optional Garnish

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Recipe1. Make scampi sauce by melting butter in a preheated pan over medium/low heat. Add 2 tablespoons chopped onions and sauté for 2 to 4 minutes or until the onions begin to brown. If the butter begins to burn, turn down the heat. When the onions are beginning to brown, add the minced garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. Don't let the garlic burn. After about 30 seconds add the wine, salt, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and black pepper, and bring mixture to a simmer. Simmer for approximately 15 to 18 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Add parsley and heavy cream and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. Do not let mixture reach a boil.2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the angel hair pasta and cook for about 4 minutes or until pasta is al dente, or mostly tender with just a slight toughness. Drain the pasta in a colander or sieve when done, then hit it with some cold water to prevent sticking and to keep it from cooking further.3. If preparing all four servings, preheat 2 large skillets over medium heat (if making just 2 servings, you'll need only one skillet and half of the total ingredients -- save the rest for another meal). Lightly salt and pepper the chicken tenderloins, then coat each one in the flour that has been measured into a large bowl. Arrange all of the coated tenderloins on a plate before sautéing 6 tenderloins in each pan. Cook the tenderloins for 3 to 5 minutes on one side or until golden brown. 4. When the chicken is brown on one side, flip each of the pieces, and move them to the side of the pans, then add an even amount of the sliced peppers and chopped onions to the center of each skillet. Continue cooking the chicken and veggies for 4 to 6 minutes or until the chicken is browned and the veggies are beginning to brown on the edges.5. Divide the scampi sauce in half and pour it over the chicken and veggies in each pan. Add 2 portions of pasta to each pan, then toss the ingredients a bit and continue to cook for a couple minutes or until the pasta is heated through. Prepare each dish by serving equal amounts of pasta onto each of four plates. Use a spoon or tongs to add the peppers and onions on top of each pile of pasta. Arrange three chicken tenderloins onto the center of the pasta.6. Sprinkle each plate with about 1/2 teaspoon of fresh parsley and serve it up with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Shrimp Primavera (Olive Garden style)

I LOVE open and dump recipes (semi homemade). After working at O.G. for a few years I learned to love their dishes. This is one of their 'lighter' dishes. I love the freshness of this dish AND my husband and kids loved it.

I used 1 bag of frozen shrimp (I threw away the package that is why it is not in the picture.)

1 box of penne pasta ( I used whole grain, but any kind of penne works)

1 bag of frozen pepper strips (I get these and other recipe starters; diced onions, grn peppers at Walmart or Smiths in their fzn vegetable section)

1/4 red onion sliced

1 bottle of Mezzetta Napa Valley Arribiata sauce (so yummy! down the pasta sauce isle)

As many fresh mushrooms quartered as you like.

Put a little oil in your pan. Saute the shrimp (the package has a more detailed instructions) add the pepper strips and onion. After a few minutes add the mushrooms, sauce and finally the penne. Serve with your favorite salad and bread. Jay even took the leftovers to work a few days later AND ate it. (that NEVER happens) It must be good!