Roasted Marinara

Everyone buys tomatoes with the hopes that their texture is luscious and their flesh is fruity. Well, I recently bought some really, really crappy tomatoes (what was I expecting in January?). I sliced them open and they were pink and grainy looking. They were worthless. Or maybe not…

Ingredients

• 8 Roma tomatoes, 1/4′d
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 4 whole cloves garlic
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• handful of thyme, rosemary & sage
• 3 glugs + 3 glugs olive oil
• 1 t black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Take an oven proof dish or pan and add 3 glugs of olive oil and the rest of the ingredients.  Place the dish/pan into the oven and roast for 5 hours, any longer and you should keep your eye on it. Take the pan out when the colors are caramel-y and the veggies are good and wilted, but not burned.

In a blender, or food processor, add the roasted veggies & about 3 more glugs of olive oil. I had about 8 oz. of unsalted tomato sauce open in the fridge, so I added that as well. Blend it all up until it’s reached a nice, smooth consistency. Serve immediately, store in the fridge for a few days or freeze it.

Curry Honey Mustard - Health-Bent

I strongly believe that quick, throw together sauces like this help make a quick Paleo meal possible. Grilled chicken (my most un-favorite of all), steak or fish quickly becomes extremely boring–one reason many people have a hard time “being” Paleo. But when you mix together a few pantry/fridge staples, any main protein can be new and improved. We dipped chicken nuggets into this particular sauce.

Ingredients

• 1/3 c yellow mustard
• 1 T mayo
• 1 t yellow curry powder
• 1/4 handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1-2 t honey

Method

Mix together and serve as a dipping sauce.

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

Steam:

• Broccoli
• Carrots

Roast:

• Zucchini
• Squash
• mushrooms
• onions
• sweet potatoes
• eggplant

Instructions

1.     Sprinkle  with olive oil, and seasoning....Garlic salt, pepper, garlic, Italian seasoning

2. While those are all being cooked.  Put Coconut Oil in pot, saute' garlic, and onions.
3. Add can of diced tomatoes and tomato puree and simmer.
4. Season to taste. 
5. I put crushed red pepper in ours.
6. Let simmer....
7. Once the veggies are all done you are going to put them in food processor and puree. Add tomatoes. 
8. When you put in processor is when you will add two hands fulls of raw spinach and 1\2
9. package of basil.  Add all to the sauce, taste to season again let

simmer for short time for flavors to meld and that's it.

Sausage “Spaghetti” in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

·         1.25 lbs mild Italian pork sausage, diced. YOU can use whatever meat you like – ground beef, sausage, chicken, beef – whatever you have on hand.

·         3 small leeks, diced

·         ½ red onion, diced 

-    1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

·         1 – 14oz can of artichoke hearts packed in water, cut into quarters

·         1 tablespoon coconut oil

·        5 zucchini squash, sliced thin like noodles

Sauce Ingredients

·         1 – 14.5 oz can of organic diced tomatoes

·         2 tablespoons coconut milk

·         1 teaspoon crushed garlic 

-    2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

·         Black pepper and sea salt to taste

Instructions 

1.  In a large skillet or wok heat the coconut oil. If you are using raw meat, brown the meat in the coconut oil and add the onion, leeks, and bell peppers. If you are using pre-cooked sausages like we did, cook the onions, leeks and bell peppers first in the coconut oil until tender and then add the meat and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the sausage is warmed through.

2.  In a small sauce pan mix together the can of diced tomatoes with the juice with the coconut cream concentrate.

3.  Bring to a simmer and add the remaining sauce ingredients and mix well. To the meat and veggies add the zucchini and artichokes and pour the sauce over.

4.  Mix well and cook for another 5-6 minutes, just until the zucchini al dente – do not over cook or they will turn to mush!               Serves 5.

Homemade Veggie Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

·        1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

·        3 cloves garlic, minced

·        1/2 sweet onion (or yellow onion)

·        39 ounces crushed tomatoes (1 – 25 ounce can plus 1-14 ounce can)*

·        2 zucchini

·        2 yellow squash

·        2 cup fresh spinach

·        1 – 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes*

·        1/2 baked sweet potato

·        1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

·        3 to 4 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

• 1/2 cup Vegetable (or Chicken Broth)

Instructions:

1.     Steam zucchini and yellow squash until soft. 

2.     In the bowl of a food processor, blend zucchini, yellow squash, 2 cups spinach, diced tomatoes, sweet potato and herbs. 

3.     In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil until soft.  Add crush tomatoes to the pot and stir to combine. 

4.     Then stir in the blended veggie tomato mixture and broth and stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring sauce to a simmer and use with vegetables or protein. 

Makes about 3 - 28 ounce jars of sauce.  Sauce can be placed in freezer bags and frozen for later use.