Simple Roasted Vegetable Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce is the greatest thing ever. Since sliced bread. Well, with sliced bread, on the side. Covered in Garlic. Yum.

Here's a super simple recipe for spaghetti sauce that contains zero preservatives.  You can make as much or as little as you like, so there is no wasting that giant can.  This recipe is also a great way to sneak in additional servings of vegetables for your kids!

You'll need:
- Assorted roasted vegetables.  (I like garlic, tomatoes, and onions at a minimum, but here I had some squash that was going to go bad, so I also included that)
- A blender
- Seasonings

Step 1: Roast your vegetables.  You can find my method here.



Step 2: Blend your vegetables together with seasonings. (You may need to add some water, but tomatoes have enough liquid to start the process)



Step 3: Enjoy your spaghetti sauce!

Frozen Banana Ice Cream

One major change that I'm doing with my diet due to my MS is decreasing the amount of dairy I consume.  I'm working towards completely removing the dairy, but I haven't done that quite yet.  I wanted to find an alternative to ice cream (since it's my favorite dessert.  Ever.  That's Wisconsin for you).  Dear ole Pinterest has yet to fail me!  I found that ice cream can be made from a variety of frozen fruits, but the one that is the closest to ice cream is frozen bananas. Here's the recipe:

You'll need:
- blender
- bananas

That's it!  All you have to do is collect those black bananas that you didn't get around to eating and place them in the freezer.  Once you want ice cream, blend them until they are creamy and smooth!

Optional add-ins: oreos, peanut butter, almonds, chocolate, nutella (!) etc. The possibilities are endless!

Seasonings Round Up

Here's the recipes for my homemade seasonings:

Taco Mix:
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp onion powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp oregano
pinch of salt
pinch of brown sugar

Pumpkin Pie / Christmas Time
2 TBSP cinnamon
2 tsp ginger (not everyone likes ginger, start out sparingly and add if you like it)
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp sugar

I'm still adding more, so keep checking back!

How to Choose Your Vegetables

Many of the principles of picking out your fruit also apply to vegetables.  Here are some simply rules to follow:

1) Buy in season.  There are many different seasonal charts for fruits and vegetables.  Here's one that I follow.

2) Buy from bins, not groups in bags. One spoiled apple will ruin the bunch.  Over-ripe fruit releases a gas that will make the fruit around them also begin to rot.

3) Use your eyes.  

  Here's what you don't want:

      - Mold

      - Soft spots

      - Bruising

      - Wilted leaves

      - Sprouts (potatoes, garlic, onions) 

   Here's what you DO want:

      - Bright and lively colors usually contain the highest level of nutrients.

      - Crisp and firm leaves.

4) Use your nose. Make sure that your vegetables don't smell sour.

5) Use your hands.  Gently feel the vegetables to make sure that there are no bruises, no soft spots, and the appropriate firmness. 

6) Choose the smaller vegetables.  This seems counter-intuitive since you want to get the biggest produce for your money, however, the smaller the fruit, the higher the skin:flesh ratio.  This ratio is important because the highest level of nutrients are found in the flesh just under the skin.

7) Don't settle.  THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE! Take your time in picking out the highest quality for vegetables.

Baking Bacon

Bacon. Bacon. Bacon.  Is there anything better than baking bacon?  Absolutely not.  The age of hot splatters burning hands is over!  Hallelujah!  Here's the easiest way to make bacon!

You'll need:
- one sheet
- tin foil
- BACON!
- perhaps an oven (at 375F)

Now, pay attention because this is very complicated.

Step 1: Wrap the sheet in tin foil.
Step 2: Place bacon on the sheet.
Step 3: Place sheet into a preheated oven. (350 for turkey bacon, 375-400 for regular bacon)
Step 4: Walk away for 15 minutes (or you can take a hint from me and longingly gaze at your lovelies through the oven glass, I find that the anticipation makes the bacon taste that much better!)

Check out that view:

Once you take your bacon out of the oven, make sure that you place it on paper towel to drain and absorb the excess grease.

Last step: devour.

  

Roasting Vegetables

Roasting vegetables is a great way to intensify the flavor of the vegetables without adding tons of calories.  Traditionally, roasting vegetables requires coating the vegetables with oil before baking them.  You do this because the vegetables have a tendency to stick to the cookie sheet due to the caramelizing that occurs on the bottom of the vegetables.  However, I do not use any oil!  How do I do this?  Low Heat. Longer cooking time.  TIN FOIL!  Let's get started.

You need:
- vegetables
- knife
- cutting board
- cookie sheet
- tin foil
- seasoning
- oven/toaster oven

Oh! Pretty colors!

Step 1: Cut your vegetables in half.

Step 2: Season your vegetables (I only use pepper).

Step 3: Place your vegetables on the tin foil and place it in the oven!

Step 4: Once the vegetables have a little char on the top, the outsides have started caramelizing, the inside is tender.

Now you can use these vegetables in sauces, soups, as thickeners, in salads, etc.
DELICIOUS!!

  

Don't Skimp on the Shrimp Scampi

One night I was really hungry.  It was Friday. It was lent. I had meat, meat and oh, shrimp!  Three guesses what I chose to eat... Throw in a random frozen vegetable pack, butter, pesto and noodles, you've got a dinner!  Here's my version of Shrimp Scampi.

Gather your ingredients:
- 1 lb of medium/large pre-cooked shrimp
- one bag of frozen vegetables (or, if you're ambitious, fresh vegetables)
- one package of (gluten free) noodles
- small amount of butter
- small amount of pesto
- pepper/Ms. Dash to taste

Step 1: Thaw and de-tail your shrimp. (Also, make sure that your shrimp is actually deveined, half of the shrimp pictured below were not)

Step 2: Boil some noodles!  I use a full package of gluten free spaghetti, but you can use whatever you have laying around.

Step 3: Melt some butter in your pan for the shrimp.

Check out those cutie shrimp just waiting for their butter bath... aw!

Step 4: Let the butter bath ensue.  Heat under medium heat.

Add whatever seasoning you would like at this point.  I'm currently trying to stay lower sodium, so Ms. Dash and pepper is what I use!

Step 5: Add the pesto, about 2 TBSP.

You can definitely use your own pesto, but my stomach was yelling and I was short on time, so Classico to the rescue!

Step 6: Cook the vegetables according to the package.  I don't typically like to boil or microwave my vegetables, but once again, I was hungry!

While the vegetables are cooking, the shrimp have probably begun to curl up.  When this happens, take your shrimp out of the pan.  If you fail to do this, you are probably going to over cook your shrimp and make them chewy.  Gross.

Add the vegetables into the butter sauce and allow the excess water to evaporate out.  The butter sauce is going to reduce and become super thick and delicious.  Plus, the thicker the butter sauce, the better it coats the noodles.

Here's everything, you just need to mix it together!

And here's the finished product:

Yum!  This is also good with other types of fish, I put some leftover salmon on top of mine and oh boy... it's angelic.

  

Oh, My Omelet!

"Good Morning, Good Morning! It's time to get up now.  Good Morning, Good Morning! To you, and you, and you, and you." Oh!  You weren't lucky enough to be woken up by your mother singing to you every morning?  Trust me, you're the luck one. (I love you, Mama!)

Well, if you don't have a mother bribing you with song, here's a good way to fuel your body for a full day: OMELET!

Here's what you need:
- small pan with cover
- cooking spray
- 2 eggs
- splash of milk
- seasoning
- toppings
- small amount of low fat, good melting cheese (love munster and american)

So I may have forgotten to take a picture, but
Step 1: mix together the eggs, splash of milk and seasoning and beat.

Step 2: cook your toppings together. (I usually go with onions, tomatoes, peppers and spinach)

Step 3: Take the toppings out of the pan and pour the eggs in.

Step 4: Cover the eggs. (It help the top cook a little bit)

Step 5: once the bottom of the eggs have set, pull up the sides of the omelet and tip the pan to allow the uncooked eggs to run to the exposed part of the pan.

When your omelet is almost cooked, place the toppings on top.

Like this: Yum!  And then cover to help it firm up on the top.

Last step: Flip the omelet in half and enjoy!

Optional: Top the omelet with pureed roasted tomatoes.  So good!!

Enjoy!

How to Choose Your Fruit

So the grocery store can be a confusing place,  like Lady Gaga's mind.  Here are some easy to follow rules for selecting the best fruit in the store.

1) Buy in season.  There are many different seasonal charts for fruits and vegetables.  Here's one that I follow.

2) Buy from bins, not groups in bags. One spoiled apple will ruin the bunch.  Over-ripe fruit releases a gas that will make the fruit around them also begin to rot.

3) Use your eyes.  Make sure that you are selecting fruit that does not contain mold, soft spots or bruising. Also, make sure that you are picking appropriately colored fruit aka: not white watermelon or green strawberries.

4) Use your nose. Some fruit, such as melons, release a sweet aroma.  If the fruit is beginning to spoil, the fruit releases a sour odor.

5) Use your hands.  Gently feel the fruit to make sure that there are no bruises, no soft spots, and the appropriate firmness.  Some fruits such as apples and pears are supposed to be firm while other fruits such as peaches and plums should be slightly tender to the touch.

6) Choose the smaller fruits.  This seems counter-intuitive since you want to get the biggest produce for your money, however, the smaller the fruit, the higher the skin:flesh ratio.  This ratio is important because the highest level of nutrients are found in the flesh just under the skin.

7) Don't settle.  THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE!  Make sure that you don't settle for an unripe fruit, there are many different types of fruits out there.  Try to mix up what you buy based on the season!

How to Prep Your Fruits and Vegetables

According to the Environmental Working Group (2013), pesticides are toxic chemicals that are aimed at killing living organisms and have been associated with brain and nervous system toxicity, cancer, hormone disruption, and skin, eye and lunch irritation.  

As a person who is majorly concerned with the threat of pesticides due to the connection between pesticides and Multiple Sclerosis, I always make sure to clean my produce as much as possible.  The New York Times wrote about a study comparing the washing methods to clean your produce.  You can read about it here.

Here's how I clean my fruits and vegetables to the best of my ability:

Step 1: Wash your sink with hot soap and water. (Your kitchen sink can better dirtier than your toilet)
Step 2: Fill up your sink and add one cup of white vinegar.
Step 3: Let your produce soak for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Rinse off your produce under running water and make sure that you scrub them to ensure that you get off the vinegar and pesticides off.
Step 5: Dry off your produce and store properly!

Enjoy your freshly cleaned produce!

What's In Your Kitchen: Freezer

It's that time!  Here is what hangs out in my freezer, just waiting for a lazy afternoon.

Bread Products
- Gluten Free Bread

Protein
- Hormone Free, Free-Range, Organic Chicken Breasts
- Turkey Sausage Patties
- Turkey Sausage Links
- Ground Turkey
- Salmon
- Medium/Large Shrimp
- Ground Burger
- Steak

Produce
- Frozen Berries (great for smoothies)
- Frozen Bananas (great for breads and ice cream)
- Frozen, Cooked Black Beans
- Frozen, Mixed Vegetables

Ice Cream
- leftover shakes (don't throw those away!  Place the excess in a tupperware container and it becomes ice cream. Half-priced large Sonic shakes never tasted so good!)
- Banana ice cream

Wanted List
- Taco Meat (already prepared)
- BBQ chicken (already prepared)
- Lasagna
- Turkey Pot Pie

I'm working on it!  What's in your Freezer?

What's In Your Kitchen: Pantry

It's the time again!  What time is it? Game Time! It's What's In Your Kitchen: Pantry Edition!  Without further adieu, here are my staples in the pantry.

Oils / Dressings / Condiments
 I like to keep a spare of all my condiments etc. in the pantry at all times.  It's helpful so that I don't have to run to the store in the middle of making dinner.

- Soy Slender Chocolate Milk

- Almond-Coconut Milk

- Chi Latte Concentrate

- Classico Pesto

- Jar of jalapeños

- Lime juice

- Lemon juice

- Sriracha

- A1 Steak Sauce

- Ketchup

- Hellmann's Light Mayo

- Applesauce

- Honey Mustard

- Olive Oil

Baking Ingredients

- Sugar

- Powered Sugar

- Brown Sugar

- Gluten Free Flour Mix

- Brown Rice Flour

- Chocolate Chips

- Coconut Strips

- Dried Fruits (Craisins, Raisins, Mango, Apple, Coconut)

- Cocoa Powder

Canned Goods

I typically try to stay away from canned goods due to the increased sodium content.  If I do happen to use canned goods, I make sure to rinse them off before consumption.

- Black Beans (both dried and canned)

- Tuna (in pouches)

- Soups (any soup with rice as a good lazy meal)

Grains

- Brown Rice

- Cous-cous

- Quinoa

- Steel Cut Oats

- Assorted Gluten Free Pastas

Nuts (A great quick snack)

- Almonds

- Pine Nuts (for pesto sauce)

- Pistachios

That's pretty much it for me!  What's in your pantry?

What's In Your Kitchen: Refrigerator

Let's play a game called... What in your kitchen?!  What, you don't think it's going to be fun?

Vegetables
- Greens (I really like to differ what types of greens I buy based on what's in season)
- Tomatoes (I really like roma tomatoes because they are generally the cheapest option and have the best flesh ratio)
- Green Peppers (the best snack. ever)
- Carrots (large, not baby carrots)
- Celery
- Onion
- Garlic
- Seasonal Vegetables

Fruit
- Bananas (once they turn black they move into the freezer for Banana Ice Cream)
- Berries (depends on what season it is)
- Citrus (oranges, tangelos, tangerines, lemons, grapefruit, whatever!)
- Apple
- Melon
- Seasonal Fruit

Protein
- Organic Eggs (From free range, organic chicken)
- Bacon!! (well, low sodium turkey bacon)

In My Door
- Soy Slender Chocolate Milk
- Almond-Coconut Milk
- Chi Latte Concentrate
- Classico Pesto
- Jar of jalapeños
- Lime juice
- Lemon juice
- Sriracha
- A1 Steak Sauce
- Ketchup
- Hellmann's Light Mayo
- Applesauce

Dairy Drawer
- Soy Yogurt (not really dairy)
- Munster Cheese
- Provolone Cheese
- American Cheese (fat-free)
- Cottage Cheese
- Brummel & Brown Yogurt Butter

What's in your kitchen?

Ribs (with BBQ Sauce)

BBQ Ribs (Aka, Busting-Flavor-In-Your-Mouth-Awesomesauce-Ribs)

So here's what you need:

1) BBQ Sauce

2) Baking Dish

3) Pepper

4) Barbecue seasoning (I use McCormick)

5) Onion Powder

6) MEAT!! (I usually use boneless ribs because they are cheap and easy to prep)

Not Shown:

- Pam (Nonstick Spray)

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325.

Step 2: Spray/Grease your baking dish.

Here's where you get out the meat.  The boneless ribs are great because they need minimal prep. Also, we use pork ribs, but you could definitely use beef ribs, if that's your thing!

Step 3: Prep meat. By cutting the ribs in half, they are going to absorb more flavor than if we left them as thick as they came.

Step 4: Place ribs into the baking dish. 

As you can see, crowding the ribs isn't really an issue, just make sure that the ribs get enough sauce at the end!

Step 5: Sprinkle the pepper, barbeque seasoning and onion powder on top of the ribs.  ONLY ON ONE SIDE! (Or else it over powers the BBQ sauce)

Make sure the oven is at 325.

Cooking isn't always perfect, here's a prime example:  MAKE SURE YOU EMPTY OUT YOUR OVEN BEFORE YOU TURN IT ON! Or else you'll have heavy, hot pieces of steel that you'll surely drop on your toes or the floor.

Step 6: Bake the ribs until they are cooked throughly (usually about an hour) but this is what they should look when they are done.

Step 7: Bring on the sauce!!  Be sure to make the sauce coat all sides of the ribs (to ensure extra deliciousness).

Here's what the pan of heaven should look like:

Here we go!  A pan chockfull of goodness. And yumminess.  And tangyness.  And a party in your tummy!

Enjoy!  Also, if you have any recipes that you want to share, feel free in the comment section.  Or, if you know me (or my recipes) and want to make a request, let me know!

  

Family BBQ Sauce

The Family BBQ Sauce (AKA, the best darn ribs sauce. period.)

My dad has a tendency to write down all of our recipes on the backs of business cards.  Personally, I love this because it shows which recipes are used time and time again.  It also shows how true and good these recipes are that these cards have survived, un-altered, for my life.  

Exhibit A:

Like many people, my Great-Grandmother and Grandmother did not use specific measurements.  Everything I was taught about cooking comes from estimations and what "looks right" or "smells right" or "tastes right."  Now, I understand that this may tick some people off, and if this is a problem for you, I can attempt to make some measurements if you'd like.

So here we go! Step one: Gather all ingredients (Left to Right)

1) Liquid Smoke (powerful stuff, aim for only one or two drops)

2) Hot Sauce (we use Dumb Ass, also strong, also only a couple drops)

3) Lemon Juice 

4) Worchestershire Sauce (Wore-chester-sh-shire, if you're in my household)

5) Yellow Mustard

6) Steak Sauce

7) Molasses

8) Ketchup (you'll need three cups at least, so get a bigger bottle)

9) Vinegar

10) Pepper

11) Brown Sugar

12) Onion (Sweet, Yellow, White: which ever)

Other things not shown:

13) Pot (With lid, por favor)

14) Spatula

Okay... here we go!

Step 1: Place vinegar and lemon juice in the pot, enough to cover the bottom of the pot by 1/4 inch. (Go half/half)

Step 2: Add about that much pepper. (Look below)

Step 3: Prepare to Cry!! (Just kidding, but we are chopping onions)

Step 3A: Slice the Onion through the middle.

Step 3B: Stack them on top of each other.

Step 3C: Cut the Stack in half.

Step 3D: Cut the onion in a star formation (As pictured below)

Step 4: Add the onions to the pot with the vinegar and lemon juice.

Step 5: Cover! And bring to a boil and then back down to simmer.  (Also, the vinegar and lemon juice are going to come to a boil much faster than water would)

Allow the onions to soften until they look something like this:

Step 6: Here comes the adding of all the other ingredients (the ones below the line according to recipe card above)

About three cups of ketchup:

About 2 Tablespoons of Molasses:

A couple of shakes of Worcestershire and Steak Sauce, drops of liquid smoke, drops of hot sauce:

Add 1/8 cup of mustard (despite what you might think, this is also very potent.  Be careful!)

Top it off with about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of brown sugar and stir! (honestly, it depends on how sweet you like your BBQ)

Last step: Put it on simmer/lo heat and walk away! (Seriously, this is necessary to make those sauces that taste like love)

Oh yes, Don't forget to taste!!! (Check out this awesomely posed selfie of us tasting the sauce)

Unfortunately, I only have this picture of the final product, as it is being spooned over pork ribs. (Don't worry, that recipe is coming next Tuesday)

BBQ CHEAT SHEET

Since cooking is all about the ratios of Sweet, Salt, Spicy, and Sour, here is a listing showing how to alter the ingredients based on what type of BBQ sauce you like:

Tangy: increase the vinegar and decrease the ketchup.

Sweet: increase the brown sugar and ketchup, decrease the hot sauce.

If you want a faux-grilled taste: add only ONE extra drop of liquid smoke, seriously, this stuff is Poe-tent!

Spicy/Sweet: increase brown sugar and hot sauce

Carolina BBQ: increase mustard and vinegar

If you think that your sauce is just too strong in generally, add either water or ketchup.