kencooking

Almost as easy as Quick and Easy Pizza Sauce, but tomato puree (if you pick the right one) has no added salt or ingredients, so adding a little extra salt and spice helps. And, this one has no olive oil added, which some people may prefer.

Ingredients

• 8 Ounce can of Tomato Puree
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp sage
• 2 tsp powdered onion
• 1 tsp powdered garlic
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped or pressed

Directions

• Blend all ingredients in a large bowl
• Let sit at least 30 minutes for flavors to blend well prior to serving.

Based on a Recipe by Guy Fieri 

Servings: 4-6

I like sloppy joes served over potatoes. They hold up better to the moisture than buns do. Serve the sloppy joe mixture on anything you prefer. Rice is also a great option.

Ingredients

Directions

A great cold day stew. Chunky veggies, simple broth.

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 90 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 6 new potatoes, quartered (or other potatoes, cut bite-sized)
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2" piece of ginger (about 2 Tbsps), chopped
• 1/4 cup of mushrooms (I used portabella, but pick your favorite), sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 soy sauce

Directions:

• In a dutch oven over medium heat, add the onion, cook until translucent
• Add garlic, carrots, celery, cook for a minute or so, until aromatic
• Add water, vinegar, soy, chicken, ginger, mushrooms, potatoes, cinnamon, salt, thyme, basil, pepper, stir until combined
• Turn heat to medium/low, cover
• Cook for 60-90 minutes, stirring every 30minutes, and making sure there’s enough moisture

Hummus is so easy to make, it almost feels like cheating to call it a recipe. But as the $5 containers of "gourmet" hummus in any specialty market show, maybe it’s not so obvious. There are a lot of variations, I’ll post a few different ones, and you should feel free to mix/match as you see fit! Given an inexpensive can of garbanzo beans, and some other inexpensive ingredients, you can make your own for way less than commercial varieties, and you’ll know exactly what’s in it.

Difficulty: Trival

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), drained
• 1/2 Cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, pealed
• Plus, one of option #1-3

Option #1 – Spicy

• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayanne pepper (optional)
• 1 habanero, seeded (optional)

Option #2 – Olivey

• 8-12 seeded Kalamata Olives

Option #3 – Tomato-y

• 4-6 Ounces Sundried tomatoes
• Depending on what the tomatoes are marinated in, you might want to add salt, pepper, cayenne

Directions:

• Put garbanzo beans, sesame oil, salt, garlic, your choice of other flavors. and 1/2 the olive oil in a food processor.
• Blend, and slowly add remaining olive oil until hummus is the consistency of mashed potatoes. You can add more olive oil if necessary, 1/2 cup is a guideline.
• Um, that’s it! Put in a bowl and serve!
• The hummus is usually better if you let it sit overnight for the flavors to blend. Stir before serving, if the oil has separated a little while sitting.
• Obviously you can omit the habanero, and have "regular" hummus.
• Keeps up to a week, covered in the fridge.

Years ago we grabbed a bottle of Dipping Oil at one of our favorite bakeries. It was delightful: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, spices. We only went to the bakery 2-3 times a year, but when we went, we’d get a bottle if they had it. But, this bottle of oil cost about 2-3 times what a loaf of bread cost. $10-12. Eventually we decided it was a nice luxury, but too expensive to buy unless we had company.

With getting into cooking so much this past year, I now find myself saying "that tastes good, how do I make it?" I used to say it out loud, but that got awkward, so now I just say it to myself. We’d gotten a lovely loaf of crusty olive bread last month, and I thought "hey, this would taste so much better with that dipping oil!" So, I made some. It was so easy, and tasted so good, I nearly kicked myself for not having just done that the first time we’d tried the "gourmet dipping oil". It doesn’t cost much to make, and isn’t difficult at all. But, like all the things I’ve tried, the challenge is "where do I start?"

You can/will alter the flavor a lot depending on the type of olive oil and vinegar you use. That’s OK, and is actually desirable! The key to this dip is to experiment. You might want more garlic, more onion, more heat. Try it with fresh garlic, different types of dried peppers, etc. Of course, this also goes for most all the recipes I make. I only have a few that I want to taste exactly the same each time.

Difficulty: Trivial

Prep time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Balsamic Vinegar
• 4 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp ground dried hot peppers (grind yourself with a mortar and pestle or food processor/blender)
• pinch of oregano
• pinch of thyme
• a few more pinches of earthy, aromatic spices.

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients in a small resealable glass container (I like to use old balsamic vinegar bottles!)
• Shake well to blend
• Let sit for at least 4 hours for flavors to blend
• Pour a little dip in a small bowl or on a plate
• Dip some fresh crusty bread into sauce, and Enjoy!
• Dipping Oil will taste fresh for a month or more unrefrigerated, in a sealed bottle