The other day I had some celery, carrots, and a can of tomatoes I wanted to use up. I thought I'd make a tomato sauce out of them and see what happened, and the result was one of the best tomato sauces I've ever made. I think the key was the last ingredient I added, one tablespoon of butter to cut the acidity, since it made the sauce taste like the kind you get in a restaurant. If you don't have all the ingredients don't worry; the most important ones are the tomatoes and butter.
The ONE Simple Trick to Making the BEST Tomato Sauce
Add additional vegetables you have lying around and want to use up. I pureed my sauce at the end but it is not necessary. The butter on the other hand, definitely necessary! This sauce works really well in other recipes, or on it's own. If you use ingredients you have on hand the only thing you need to buy is a can of tomatoes, making this one of the most inexpensive recipes you will make all week!
Ingredients
Add canola oil to a large pot and place over medium high heat. Add onion and allow to cook for five minutes, do not allow the onion to burn. Add garlic, cook for another minute. Do not allow garlic to burn. Add celery and carrots and other vegetables if you are using. Allow to cook for 8-10 minutes, or until vegetables soften. Add can of tomatoes. If tomatoes are whole, break into pieces by pressing them with the back of a long spoon. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered for 1 hour. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon butter. Stir slowly until butter melts. Allow sauce to cook for 30-60 minutes. Place half of sauce in a blender and process until smooth. Then puree the other half of the sauce. Sauce can be used right away or frozen in smaller batches for a later use.
Sometimes it's best to keep things simple. In this case I am talking about lasagna. My children love it but do not want lots of pieces of vegetables in it, so I decided to make the simplest lasagna I could, with the simplest tomato sauce while still ensuring they were both nutritious. The result was a delicious meal everyone loved. If your family can handle some extra vegetables in their lasagna feel free to add them. This lasagna does not cost a lot to make, and I froze all the leftovers which left me enough to make a second smaller lasagna the following week. Freeze leftover sauce and noodles separately and defrost before using. Leftovers make enough for an 8x8 lasagna.
Pair It With This "Anything Goes" Salad For A Complete Meal
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9x11 baking dish with nonstick spray.
Place a heaping tablespoon of Cheap and Cheerful Tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan. There should be enough sauce to lightly cover the entire bottom.
Lay 3 cooked lasagna noodles side by side lengthwise so entire bottom of dish is covered. It is okay if noodles are broken and pieced back to together, or if noodle is too long and goes up the edge a little.
Lightly drop little spoonfuls of ricotta throughout each noodle. If you and your family like a lot of ricotta than feel free to place more. I used it sparingly.
Cover with a few tablespoons of tomato sauce so ricotta and noodles are covered. Top with slices of mozzarella so entire surface is covered.
Repeat layers of noodles, ricotta, sauce and mozzarella so there are three layers of noodles in total, end with mozzarella cheese.
Cover with with tinfoil and bake for 40 minutes. Allow to sit for five minutes before serving.
Serves 5-6 people
Looking for other great dinner recipes? Try Cashew Chicken Stir Fry, Easy Fajitas, and Sesame Chicken.
These muffins are my new favourite snack. I keep a bag in my freezer and defrost one in the microwave when I am hungry mid-morning. I love how the muffin tastes as if it was just taken out of the oven once I've defrosted it. If you want to make them a bit more child-friendly, add chocolate chips. Otherwise, save the whole batch for yourself and make your kids other muffins! These muffins are high in fibre, low in fat, low in sugar and made in one bowl.
The Easy Way To Rescue Burned Muffins
Ingredients
Preheat oven to 350 and spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray. In a medium size bowl combine oatbran, skim milk and mashed banana and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Once oatbran mixture is softened add vanilla, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, oil, honey, and molasses, and chocolate chips if you are adding. Divide evenly among muffin tin and bake for 19-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Place muffins in a large freezer friendly bag or container and place in freezer. When ready to defrost place 1 muffin in microwave and defrost for 1 minute.
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