Easy Marinara Sauce

A quick and simple marinara sauce made with tomato paste and spices.  Great for pizzas and dipping.

I make this marinara sauce often.  It's so simple and delicious and can be whipped up in no time.  I never buy store bought marinara sauce because this is so easy and I usually have all the ingredients on hand (it's also probably cheaper than store bought).  This will be your new favorite marinara sauce soon too.

Easy Marinara Sauce will be your new favorite  [Tweet this]

Tomato paste is the main ingredient in this sauce.  I always have tomato paste in my pantry.  It's useful in so many recipes and has great tomato flavor.  All that's needed for this recipe is a well-stocked spice cabinet (just common spices), tomato paste, and water.

I always have tomatopaste in my pantry  [Tweet this]

Easy Marinara Sauce

Prep time:  under 10 minutes
Servings:  4

Ingredients:

1 6oz can tomato paste
6-12 oz water
1-2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan (optional)
red pepper flakes (optional)

Empty the can of tomato paste into a small bowl.  Add the water (I refill the tomato paste can as a measurement) a little at a time, stirring until the sauce is the consistency you desire.

Add spices and stir well until combined (you may want to add a little more water).  Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

The sauce is ready to use immediately but tastes best once it has set a while for the flavors to meld.

Makes about 2 cups of marinara sauce (about 4 servings).  Use as a pizza sauce or as a dip for bread sticks, mozzarella sticks, garlic bread, calzones or stromboli, whatever you like.

Enjoy.

For more tomato paste recipes check out:

Simple Pasta Sauce   -

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

Meatball Calzones    -

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Quick & Easy Guacamole

A four ingredient guacamole with a wonderful flavor that's ready in no time.  So simple anyone can make it.

There are many uses for avocados but when I have them I always want to make guacamole.  It's creamy, savory, and delicious.  It makes a great snack or addition to meals like tacos, salads, even sandwiches.  I'm a guacamole addict.  Are you?

I'm a guacamole addict. Are you? [Tweet this]

One of the many awesome things about Hawaii is that avocados grow on trees.  Buying avocados can be a little pricey but I have a friend with an avocado tree in her yard.  It's a big old tree that produces lots of avocados and she shares them with me.  At one point, I had about eight avocados on my kitchen counter waiting to become perfectly ripe. I love Hawaii.

Money doesn't grow on trees, but avocados do. [Tweet this]

Now I have to mention this mortar and pestle.  I love it.  My husband brought it home one day (I think from Costco, but I don't remember for sure) because he knew I always wanted a good one.  That's my kind of romance.  I don't want diamonds.  The way to my heart is with cooking paraphernalia.  Anyway, it's eight inches in diameter and heavy (I have to use two hands to lift it).  It doesn't get moved often but has a place of honor on my prep table right beside my Kitchenaid.  It's great for grinding hard spices and for this recipe, pounding garlic.  The way to the best guacamole is with pounded garlic.  You can mince all you like but when you pound/mash it all the oils are released and it becomes very fragrant and delicious.  This is the way to make ready to serve guacamole.  You don't have to wait for the flavors to meld when you pound and mash everything together.  Now I love guacamole with lots of flavors in it like my Great Guacamole but, I love it quick and simple too.

The best guacamole is with pounded garlic. [Tweet this]

Quick & Easy Guacamole

Ingredients:

2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 avocados
2 limes
Hot sauce (like Habanero Hot Sauce)

Peel and mince (or just chop into small pieces) the garlic.  Then place it in a mortar and pestle and pound/mash it until it's very fragrant and kind of mushy (you can also use the edge of a  knife or even a garlic press for similar results, but nothing beats taking out some aggression by pounding it in a mortar and pestle).

Then add the avocado and juice from 2 limes.  Mash and stir the avocado until it's creamy and mixed well.

Add as much hot sauce as you like and stir to combine.  You can add salt if you like, but I rarely do since I eat it with tortilla chips that are usually salty enough.

It's ready to serve right away.  Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to a week (if it lasts that long).  You can also freeze it in a zipper bag just make sure all of the air is squeezed out (I've had frozen mashed avocado with lime juice in my freezer for up to 1 month--it may stay good for longer but did I mention I'm an addict).

Enjoy.

Recipes mentioned in this post:

Habanero Hot Sauce

Great Guacamole

Don't know what to do with all this guacamole?  Try:

Chicken and Black Bean Salsa Nachos

Guacamole Black Bean Tuna Salad

Tequila Lime Chicken Taco Salad

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Easy Sausage and Peppers (3 Ways)

An easy one pot dish of sausage, peppers, and onions that can be served 3 different ways for 3 separate meals.

As always whenever my husband or I see meat on sale we buy it and put it in our freezer (if we don't cook it that day).  We have acquired lots of sausages, steaks, and roasts this way for much cheaper than full price.  These sausages were one of our on sale purchases and I love this recipe because it is so versatile.

I don't always like to eat the same thing every night but I like to cook big meals that can last most of the week.  This recipe is great because it's simple and you can dress it differently for simple and new meals.  This is great for a busy week.  All you have to do is cook once then just reheat.

I started with just sausage and peppers with sides, then sausage and peppers over rice, and lastly sausage and pepper sandwiches.  I did all the work on the first night, then, the next night I just threw some rice in the rice cooker and reheated the sausage and peppers.  For the third meal I just loaded some hoagie rolls with sausage and peppers, topped with provolone, and broiled until the cheese melted. Easy peasy and very delicious.

Easy Sausage and Peppers (3 ways)

Ingredients:

1 pack (6) sausages (we had beef, jalapeno, and Monterrey jack cheese sausages...use what ever you have or like), sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chili oil
4 bell peppers, assorted colors, sliced
1 large red onion, sliced
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
few shakes of oregano
few shakes of crushed red peppers
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat.  Saute the sausages until slightly browned (these were fully cooked sausages I just like to get some color on them).

Then add the oils and peppers and onions (with a bit of salt and pepper).  Continue sauteing until the vegetables soften then add the garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes.  Saute a little longer until garlic is fragrant then remove from heat.  Taste for seasoning and add more as needed.

Makes 6-8 servings.  Serve with sides of your choice, over pasta or rice, and/or on sandwiches with provolone cheese.

Enjoy.

I've told y'all that my husband loves things spicy.  This is his sausage and pepper rice bowl smothered in sriracha :-)

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Mint Chocolate Macaroons

These, lighter, cookies are great for those who do not want too much butter over the holidays.  Made with egg whites, fresh coconut, and chocolate, with mint extract these cookies are fresh and delicious.

I finally picked up a whole coconut, in China Town.  I got the vendor to cut it in half for me so it would be a little easier to manage, then I (well actually my husband) cut out the meat.  This was not an easy thing to do, but there are some videos on youtube that make it look so simple.  Here is my favorite (I love the song).  Anyway, once we got the meat from the shell I rinsed it and shredded it (food processor made this easy).  Now for the Macaroon recipe.

I started with a basic macaroon recipe, replaced the vanilla extract with mint extract, and added melted chocolate.

Ingredients:

2 egg whites
1/2 tsp mint extract
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut (I probably used close to 2 cups, all of my coconut)
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted

Beat egg whites and extract until soft peaks form then add sugar slowly and continue beating until stiff peaks form (a stand mixer works great here).  Then fold in the remaining ingredients (make sure chocolate isn't too hot).  Drop by teaspoon full onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake in 325 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until set.  Let cookies cool on pan for at least 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.  Makes 30.

Wow, these turned out great. The chocolate gives them a brownie-like flavor with chewiness from the coconut and cool, freshness of mint.  A wonderful holiday treat.  Enjoy.

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Holiday Gift Idea: Coffee Chocolate Bark with Macadamia Nuts

This incredibly simple holiday gift idea uses only three ingredients and tastes amazing.  Made with bitter sweet chocolate chips, 100% Kona coffee (Hawaiian grown coffee) and studded with macadamia nuts this gift is sure to please.

I was inspired to make this after seeing a post from Grab a Plate .  I was shocked at how simple it was so I had to give it a try, with my own modifications of course.  To make it my own I added some instant coffee to flavor the chocolate.  I love coffee and chocolate together, almost as much as I love chocolate and peanut butter.  I actually have this favorite candy that I get sometimes, they are coffee flavored dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts.  It seems that all candy here in Hawaii contains macadamia nuts and it's no secret why, they are grown here, and they have a delicious buttery flavor. So with my ideas I made chocolate bark.

Ingredients:

1 bag of bitter sweet chocolate chips (60% cacao)
1-2 tsps Instant coffee
1/2 cup roasted Macadamia nuts, chopped

In a microwave safe bowl I melted the chocolate chips.  Then I added the instant coffee (I crushed the crystals in a mortar and pestle to make them finer) and half of the nuts.  I stirred this well, and then poured the mixture into a parchment lined 9 by 13 inch baking dish.  I allowed this to cool over night in the refrigerator until the chocolate hardened, then I lifted the chocolate and parchment paper out of the pan, and broke the chocolate into shards.  The chocolate once hardened does not stick to the parchment paper, you can also use aluminum foil.  I then put the bark into gift bags (I got about 4 bags with a little left over for myself).

This is so easy. I don't know if I can stress how simple this is to make.  There are so many variations you can make as well, it's all up to your own tastes and creativity.  I loved the coffee flavor in the chocolate.  The bitter sweet chocolate already had a bitterness to it of a good dark chocolate, and the unsweetened coffee added a little more bitterness.  It was perfect.  If you like your chocolate sweeter you can always choose a sweeter chocolate like semi sweet or milk chocolate.  As always be creative and enjoy.

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