Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce
Al’s Spaghetti Sauce


If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.


FYI - If you make this recipe to save money and/or time - it will do neither. It will give you the satisfaction of making a great homemade product. Truly a labor of love.

Ingredients:

2 - 28oz cans Dei Fratelli Chopped Italian Tomatoes
1 - 28oz can Dei Fratelli Diced Tomatoes
2 - 15oz cans Dei Fratelli Tomato Sauce
1 - 12oz can Everyday Essentials Tomato Paste
1 - Medium Sized fresh tomato (optional - had one on hand)
2 - Cups Cherry Tomatoes - halved (optional - had some on hand)
1 - Large (or 2 Medium) White Onion - diced
1 - 8oz package of Mushrooms - diced
2 to 3 - Medium sized Zucchinis
2 to 3 - Medium sized Yellow Squash
2 - Medium sized carrots - peeled and fine grated.
Minced garlic (you decide how much)
Penzey’s Dried Oregano
Fresh Thyme (stripped from stem)
Fresh Basil (several leaves fine chopped)
Salt & Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 - lbs Ground Chuck.

The ingredients used above will fill a 7QT pot. Scale your batch accordingly. We freeze measured amounts of sauce in a container - enough for 3-4 servings.

Directions:

Place a 7QT pot on medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to pot. Add carrot, 1/2 of diced onion, zucchini, squash, 1/3 of diced mushrooms, and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, & oregano. Stir.

Sauté until veggies are tender (about 5 - 10 minutes). You might have to add more EVOO during sauté time. Onions will start caramelize. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Add about a teaspoon of fresh thyme and tablespoon of fresh basil.

Add all tomato products and 1/3 of diced mushrooms to pot. Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce to a texture of your liking. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover with a screen and stir often. The goal is to reduce the water content and concentrate the tomato mixture. This process will take 2 to 3 (or more) hours. Place a teaspoon of the sauce on a plate to see how much liquid spreads out from the edges. I don’t like much water in my sauce, so there’s very little. Season to taste with salt and pepper after it’s done reducing. Salting too much before reduction will also concentrate the salt. Add a sprinkle of dried oregano and more fresh thyme if you like. Stir

While tomato/veggie mixture is reducing, brown the ground chuck.

In another pan sauté the remaining diced onions, remaining diced mushrooms, and some garlic until soft. Salt & Pepper to taste.

Add ground chuck. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle of dried oregano. Break up and stir. Drain excess grease. If you are freezing the entire batch - allow to cool before adding to sauce. If you plan to use the sauce right away - add meat to sauce if it’s reduced to your liking.

Cool before freezer packaging. Fill sink with enough cold water ice to reach 1/2 up the sauce pot when placed into sink. Stir every few minutes.

Minestrone Soup



This recipe is adapted from Living Without Summer 2005 issue.

It's one of our favorites and gets rave reviews from all who've tried - gluten-free or otherwise.

We save it for the fall/winter when it is cold and yucky on the outside and warm and yummy on the inside.

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large onion - diced
2 medium carrots - sliced
2 stalks celery - sliced
1 medium potato - diced
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 small zuchinni
1 tspn oregano
2 tspn salt
4 cups GF chicken broth (Kitchen Basics, Swanson’s, Pacific, Imagine)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 cup fresh or frozen green bean (1 1/2" pieces)
1 15oz can kidney beans - drained & rinsed
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (optional) or 2 cubes of frozen homemade basil pesto (See Al Notes)
Parmesan cheese (optional)



Add olive oil, butter & garlic to a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute until onion is transparent and soft.

Add celery, carrots, potato. Sauté for another 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and chicken broth.

Bring soup up to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15-30 minutes. Veggies should be tender.

Add the corn, green beans, kidney beans, zucchini and simmer for another 15-30 minutes.

Stir in fresh basil or add frozen pesto cubes and allow to melt.

Serve hot and don't eat too much. You could also top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.


Al Notes

Since we made a double batch, we use both kidney beans and black beans.

In the summer I will make fresh basil pesto. This is usually a Saturday project for me. We have a little farmers market downtown and I'll get several bunches. I'll whiz up a batch and pour it in ice cube trays and freeze it. After about a month of pesto making, we'll have several freezer bags full of pesto cubes we can use for a whole bunch of things...like this soup!