Homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce

This is one of my favorite things to cook, period. But for those of you who need a specific recipe... sorry, I don't have one. This sauce is the epitome of my "taste as you go cooking." Here in this post today, I wrote roughly what I would usually do for a basic tomato herb sauce.

Like I said, this is the basic tomato sauce, but I like to mix it up depending on the day and what veggies I have around. It is really fun to get creative and add in some roasted red peppers or mushrooms when you have those available!

This sauce is quick and great on noodles for an easy dinner with a side salad. BUT this sauce has great flavor and picks up other flavors really well. I love using this sauce on grilled chicken with a slice of melted cheese...almost like chicken parmesan except faster, easier, and without the extra mess or extra calories of breading and frying the chicken. It freezes and thaws great, too.

When I first started making this in college I was only cooking for myself. I would make a whole batch of it, and freeze it in little mason jars or Tupperware. The stuff thaws well and tastes great up to 6 months later (probably longer, just never makes it that long before I eat it all)! I've used it on eggplant Parmesan, too, and it was a huge hit with my boyfriend's family.

I've thought too about making it into a base of a tomato or roasted red pepper soup... I'll have to let you know if that works out. Let me know if you try it first and tips for success!

Basic ingredient list:

• 2 Pints Cherry Tomatoes
• 1/2 White or Yellow Onion
• Garlic (~5 cloves)
• Fresh Herbs of Choice (basil, rosemary, thyme and oregano are all good) 
• If you don't have fresh herbs around, you can also use dried  italian seasoning or herbs de Provence
• Red pepper flakes (just a pinch)
• Red wine (~1/4 cup drizzled)
• Balsamic vinegar  (a little drizzle maybe a tablespoon or two)
• I usually do EITHER red wine OR balsamic... could do both I guess, just may be a little acidic
• Salt and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Parmesan Cheese

Here's how it goes:

1. Rinse and dump: the cherry tomatoes into roasting pan or cookie sheet. Just make sure it has a little edge at least so things don't roll away into the bottom of your oven
2. Chop and dump: roughly chop your onion, smash the garlic cloves (don't need to chop), and chop fresh herbs and throw them all into your pan. If you're going to add red peppers or mushrooms or anything else at this point, just rough chop and throw it all in!
3. Drizzle and shake: drizzle some olive oil, red wine or balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and shake it all around to coat them a little
4. Roast in oven and do something else for a while: I usually roast them for ~30-45 min at 350 degrees. Just till the veggies are tender and the tomatoes are popping open
5. Blend it and Taste it: This is where I get to use my little rocket blender, or my boyfriends mom's awesome ninja blender... anything with blades and buttons will work. Pour all the stuff from the pan into the blender including all the juice. Blend it all up and add olive oil until it's the right consistency for you. I usually blend in some freshly graded Parmesan cheese at this point. Taste it and add whatever else you want. 
6. EAT IT

1. Need ideas: noodles, chicken, baked tilapia or other white fish, roasted vegetables, spaghetti squash, dipping sauce for appetizers, eggplant Parmesan, with a spoon. 

Really simple, really quick, really delicious.

Let me know what yummy combinations you've come up with!

Flank Steak with Chimichurri

I have always been intrigued by Chimichurri. It was this, supposedly, magical Argentinian sauce I had always heard of, but never tried. From what the ingredients were, I knew I would probably love it... but until a couple of years ago I had never tasted the stuff!

Then, within a short amount of time, I tasted about 3 different versions... and, while they were good, they tasted totally different! It was mind blowing. I thought it was supposed to be this classic dish, so I figured they would all be fairly similar. Wrong. Some were way more parsley-y, others with much more cilantro, and one was more of a vinegar based liquid with little fresh herb to speak of. I like the cilantro kind the best, myself!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Chimichurri... it is an Argentinian sauce used on grilled meats.  It is usually made out of lots of fresh herbs (parsley, oregano, and cilantro) and is often bright green, in my experience. That is the extent of my knowledge... sorry to disappoint. 

So, my secret is out... I'm by no means a Chimichurri expert. However, I wanted to come up with a recipe that I liked and could make with my fresh herbs in the summer time!

I took what I liked in different kinds that I've tried and made a combo of about 6 different recipes to come up with this... a pretty freaking fantastic Chimichurri, if you ask me! I won't be searching for recipes anymore... this one is a keeper. 

Flank Steak marinade

• 1/4 c. vegetable oil
• 2 Tbl. red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbl. worcestershire sauce
• 3 Tbl. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. mustard (I used a spicy dijon)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper steak immediately before grilling

Marinade the flank steak overnight (or if you don't have time, at least for a couple of hours). 

Preheat your grill to high heat. Take the steak out of the marinade and salt and pepper both sides right before grilling. For medium rare steak, grill about 5-7 min on each side. 

Take meat off the grill and cover with foil, to let it rest.


Chimichuri Sauce

• 2 Tbl. fresh oregano
• 1/2-2/3 c. chopped cilantro
• 1/2-2/3 c. chopped parsley
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 4 Tbl. fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• 1 minced shallot
• 2 Tbl. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flake
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt to taste

Basically take all of the above ingredients, and blend them together until the consistency is like a sauce. Super easy... and REALLY YUMMY!!! Fresh light flavors great for summer grilling season and I got to use all fresh herbs from my garden!

Let me know how you like it!

Vegetarian Enchiladas (So good you won't miss the meat)

First off I want to say: Yes, I'm aware that these are not the most appetizing pictures. I didn't take them right away, this is a left-over enchilada after the microwave... and all I really wanted to do was eat it, so I didn't bother with getting good pictures. SO there it is. The cheesy blob of deliciousness that is the vegetarian enchilada!

This is another of the recipes I cooked for my PBL group in med school. I doubled this recipe and made about 23 enchiladas. This obviously tuned out to be way too many for 8 people, but they were great left over, and they were easy to make!

Now, Ben is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I don't mean that he isn't adventurous (because he'll try anything), or that he doesn't like vegetables (he even likes broccoli... yuck), but... he does LOVE his meat. So I knew it was a big complement when he told me "These couldn't have been any better, even with meat in them."

Without further delay: Veggie Enchiladas

Enchilada Filling

• ~ 2 cups cooked brown rice 
• Usually a little less, I use the 5 minute instant brown rice and the servings work out so it's slightly less than 2 cups once cooked, which is perfect. I find 2 cups to be a little too much rice
• 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1/2 white onion sliced up into strips or roughly chopped
• One red pepper, one yellow pepper, one green pepper sliced into strips (not too long)
• Some Grocery stores have the frozen pepper mix-about 16 oz bags work great for this! Less cutting for you!
• Fresh Baby Spinach... I use about 1/2 a bag for a single recipe
• 1 packet taco seasoning (~2 Tbl.)
• 3/4 cup salsa

Saute the onion and peppers for a minute or two just to soften them, or defrost them if they are frozen. Mix the rice, peppers, onion, beans, salsa, and taco seasoning all together in a pot, or a pan with tall sides and stir together. Stir in the spinach and let it cook just until the spinach is barely wilted. Filling is done!

Fill your 6 inch flour tortillas with the filling and put in your baking dish. Usually fills about 12 tortillas of this size (maybe 10, I tend to over-fill my enchiladas)

Enchilada Sauce

• 2 Tbl. vegetable oil
• 2 Tbl. flour
• 2 Tbl. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 tsp garlic powder (or to taste, if you like more)
• Tiny little pinch cayenne pepper if you like a little heat-JUST  A LITTLE! You don't want to overpower the delicious filling
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

I don't like canned enchilada sauce, and this is super easy so I use it. If you're cool with canned or you have your favorite brand of enchilada sauce, by all means go for it, if it saves a little time. But, really, this cooks up in just a few minutes while you're making the filling.

Just warm the vegetable oil over medium heat, add in the flour and chili powder to cook for a couple minutes (2-4 min). Add in all the other ingredients and stir well to mix it all. Bring it to a boil and then simmer over medium heat for about 10 min until it thickens up a little. It won't get very thick, but it's enchilada sauce, you don't want it super thick.

Once your filling is done and your enchiladas are all rolled up, pour the sauce over top. Top it with some cheese, I like the shredded white Mexican cheese blend. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until all warmed through, cheese is melty and sauce is bubbling!

They really are delicious, and super easy. Actually, I didn't even think about it till afterward, but they are pretty darn healthy too. Lots of veggies, very little fat (omit the cheese if you're REALLY worried... but, that just doesn't happen with me)!