Easy Marinara Sauce

Start the sauce off with finely diced carrot, celery, onion and garlic.  And then you have the finished tomato goodness!

 So I have recently been making this sauce quite a bit for a variety of reasons.  I've taught my cooking students how to make it.  I've been working quite a few Make Ahead Meal nights where we have made the sauce, I made Chicken Parmesan for clients multiple times in the last month and this is the sauce I list with that recipe.  I make spaghetti for my family every other week.  You could say this sauce has been on my mind a lot.  So I decided it deserved it's own post.  For me, this sauce is a starting point; I simmer lean beef or sausage in it for a meat sauce.  I throw in other veggies like mushroom, spinach or kale.  It's the sauce I use for lasagna, chicken parm, baked ziti or spaghetti casserole.  Make a big batch, split it up in containers and freeze it.  I usually always have some in my freezer because I can turn it into a meal very quickly on a busy night.  But also, a single batch can be made quickly and eaten just as quick.  :)

Erika’s Easy Marinara Sauce

1 tbl olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 medium carrot, finely diced
2 ribs of celery, finely diced
1/2 onion (yellow or red, whatever you like), finely diced
1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (can be the kind seasoned with oregano and basil, or not)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
6 oz of water or broth (just fill the tomato paste can)
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (contains basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, minced garlic, crushed red pepper)
2 tsp. sugar (or equivalent sugar substitute)

Directions
In medium pot heat oil over medium heat, add garlic, carrot, celery and onion.  Stir frequently and cook down until they are soft and begin to caramelize.
Add the Italian seasoning, stir and cook a few minutes more until the seasonings are fragrant.
Add cans of tomatoes, sauce and paste. Fill paste can w/ water or broth (I use water) and add just some of it to pot. Stir to incorporate the paste into the sauce. If it seems too thick, add more water.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add sugar (or substitute), stir and taste, if too tart for your taste, add more sugar.
Cover the pot and let the sauce boil. The sauce can still boil even on a lower heat; this can keep it from boiling over in the pot and/or splattering when you lift the lid. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.
At this point, it's ready for use or you can keep simmering for 30 minutes. 

Options:  After the initial 15 minute simmer, I have added uncooked ground Italian sausage and/or ground beef or turkey.  Lean beef must be very lean to minimize the added oil to the sauce, but I have found that cooking the meat in the sauce really enhances the flavors together.  Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour on low.

Add chopped spinach or kale and let it cook for another 15 minutes.  Or include mushrooms when you are first starting with the carrot, celery and onion.

Roasted Vegetables with Polenta

I made this this weekend to go with the marinara sauce and pasta I was making for my daughter's Birthday Weekend Extravaganza.  It was really easy and turned out delicious.  My inspiration was from a recent recipe I read from Cook's Illustrated, Oven Dried Tomatoes.  I didn't dry the vegetables out, but I liked the idea of starting out with no added oil or moisture.  My natural inclination every time I start to roast something in the oven is to drizzle oil and salt over it.  So with this dish, I thought if they cook down and naturally caramelize a little, the flavors will concentrate. Then you can season them and and drizzle some olive oil or take them a step further and turn it into a sauce or just leaving them as is.  I would also suggest going to the farmers market, picking up a large amount of veggies and making a large batch.  It cooks down quite a bit, so it was fine for what I needed it for, but there wasn't any leftover.  I served this on the side where there was a choice of sauce with beef and sausage, a meatless sauce, pasta and polenta.

Oven Roasted Vegetables
I am giving you the amounts that I used when I made this, but as I mentioned, just get a bunch of veggies to make a large batch.

2 zucchini, first cut into round sliced and then the sliced cut in to quarters
4 large mushrooms
4 carrots (mine were fairly thin and short from my organic produce delivery)
4 roma tomatoes, sliced into wedges and the cut each of those in half
1 large heirloom tomato, sliced same as romas
1/2 red onion very thinly sliced
1 rib of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Olive or vegetable oil for drizzling
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup water
1 or 2 tsp of Italian seasoning
1 tsp no-salt seasoning (like Mrs. Dash or 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe's)
Salt and pepper to your own taste

Prepare/slice all the vegetables.  Using a large sheet pan with sides (I covered mine with foil to make clean up easier) spread out the vegetables with the crushed garlic, mix them around and season with Italian seasoning and no-salt seasoning.  Place in oven that has been pre-heated at 400 degrees.  Periodically check on them and use a spatula to mix them around some more.
When they are cooked down and the juices from the tomatoes is mostly gone, they are done, about 20 minutes.  You can then serve them as is or do what I did to make it sort of like a thick sauce-
Transfer to a medium pot over medium heat and season them more if you want, drizzle in the oil and mix in the tomato paste and water.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Uncooked veggies, toss them together on the pan with the seasonings and garlic

The finished dish!  I wish I would have plated some up to take a photo but there was no more time or sunlight!

I linked the polenta recipe I use above.  It's from Mark Bittman and it's very easy.  I love it and these veggies served on top of the polenta along with some marinara sauce and a little cheese is excellent.

Polenta Without Fear from Mark Bittman, New York Times

Ingredients

1 cup milk (preferably whole milk)
2 cups water
Salt
1 cup coarse cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste, optional

Method
1. Bring milk to a boil with 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and add a large pinch of salt. Adjust heat so liquid simmers. Add cornmeal in a steady stream, whisking as you do to prevent lumps. When it has all been added, let mixture return to a boil, then turn heat to low. Polenta should be just barely simmering.

2. Cook, stirring occasionally and being sure to scrape sides and bottom of pan, for 15 to 20 minutes, until mixture is creamy and cornmeal tastes cooked. If mixture becomes too thick, whisk in some water, about 1/2 cup at a time.

3. Taste and season polenta as necessary with salt and pepper. Take pan off stove, stir in the butter or oil and the cheese if you are using it, and serve, passing more cheese at the table if you like.

Chicken Parmesan with Easy Marinara Sauce

Healthy Chicken Parmesan w/ Easy Marinara Sauce

This is my very simple version for making chicken parmesan.  I tend to not bother with creating a breaded piece of chicken and just like to coat the chicken with grated parmesan cheese, pan fry it a bit, then finish it in the oven with my Easy Marinara Sauce.  I decided to call it healthy because it is removing the extra breading, it's not overly fried and then you can control the amount of cheese you add to the top when you bake it.

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless Chicken breasts (use boneless skinless thighs if you prefer)
Olive oil
1 ½ c. Grated parmesan cheese (reserve some for serving)
1/2 c. shredded cheese (your choice- part skim mozzarella is good, a low fat cheese can also work)
Italian seasoning (contains basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, minced garlic, crushed red pepper)
Salt and pepper

Directions

1.    Heat frying pan w/ 2 TBL olive oil over medium-high heat.
2.    Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
3.    Prepare chicken breasts- drizzle w/ another 2-3 teaspoons olive oil and coat each side with salt, pepper,  Italian seasoning and about 1 cup of the parmesan cheese. 
4.    Place chicken in hot frying pan and cook for about 3 minutes, then turn and cook for another 3 minutes.  If the chicken is not looking golden and cooked, cook a little longer on each side.  The bits of parmesan cheese on them should get crispy.
5.    Transfer chicken to baking dish, pour marinara sauce over and sprinkle with parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  Place in oven and bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes.  Cheese should be very melted and bubbly.

Marinara Sauce

1 tbl olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 medium carrot, finely diced
2 ribs of celery, finely diced
1/2 onion (yellow or red, whatever you like), finely diced
1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (can be the kind seasoned with oregano and basil, or not)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
6 oz of water or broth (just fill the tomato paste can)
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (contains basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, minced garlic, crushed red pepper)
2 tsp. sugar (or equivalent sugar substitute)

Instructions:
1.    In medium pot heat oil over medium heat, add garlic, carrot, celery and onion.  Stir frequently and cook down until they are soft and begin to caramelize.
2.    Add the Italian seasoning, stir and cook a few minutes more until the seasonings are fragrant.
3.    Add cans of tomatoes, sauce and paste. Fill paste can w/ water or broth (I use water) and add just some of it to pot. Stir to incorporate the paste into the sauce. If it seems too thick, add more water.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
4.    Add sugar, stir and taste, if too tart for your taste, add more sugar.
5.    Cover the pot and let the sauce boil. The sauce can still boil even on a lower heat; this can keep it from boiling over in the pot and/or splattering when you lift the lid. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.

Optional:  ½ cup Marsala wine added just after spices