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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Meatball Calzones

Hot gooey cheese and meatballs folded inside a soft and chewy pizza crust. 

I love pizza.  I love making homemade pizza too, but my oven sucks.  I live in an apartment so I don't have my dream oven and gradually my current oven has become worse and worse.  It still works for many things and breads and pizzas turn out okay if I bake them on an AirBake pan, but I can't use my baking stone anymore :(  The problem is that breads burn on the bottom before they start to brown on top.  The way I've dealt with this is just baking breads and pizzas on one of my AirBake cookie sheets in the center of the oven. It works and I still enjoy my baked products, but they just don't get the same crisp/crunchy-ness as when I use the stone.

Now that I've complained....let's get to calzones. I like to think of calzones as individual pizzas folded in half.  Some people say that there should be no sauce inside the calzone, but I say, "do whatever you want".  Personally I put a little inside but kept most for dipping.  As for my pizza sauce, I make an easy marinara out of tomato paste.  It's easy and inexpensive.  I always keep tomato paste stocked in my pantry (it's great for so many things. Have you seen my Homemade Bloody Mary Mix or my Simple Pasta Sauce?).

Easy Marinara Sauce

1 6oz can tomato paste
1-2 cups water
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried minced onions
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Parmesan (optional)

Mix the tomato paste with water until it is the consistency you like.  Stir in the herbs and spices and let sit for about 1 hour.  You may need to add more water to get it to the right consistency.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Just microwave to heat or enjoy cold or at room temperature.  Once again, do what you like it's pizza there shouldn't be so many rules.

Meatball Calzones

Ingredients:

16 oz (1 lb or 453g--I usually round up to 500g) pizza dough
15-20 pre-cooked Italian meatballs, split in half (Check out my Slow Cooker Meatballs)
Mozzarella, shredded
Easy Marinara Sauce

Start with your favorite pizza dough.  After mixing and kneading allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.  Separate into 4 roughly equal pieces and roll into balls.  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Using one ball of dough at a time, roll/press into about a 6-9in circle (like a pizza).

Spread a spoon-full of marinara onto half of the circle.  Top with 1/4 of the meatballs and a hand-full of cheese then fold the other half over (you will have to pull and stretch) and seal the seam by pinching and folding.

Place the calzone on a baking sheet and cover while you make the rest.

Bake at 425F for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  Brush hot calzones with garlic butter for extra deliciousness.  Serve with extra marinara for dipping.

Enjoy.

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Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

A simple bloody mary mix made from tomato paste.

Bloody Marys make a great drink for 6 AM kickoff on gameday Saturdays.  However, the bottled mixes can be slightly expensive and you still have to tweak it to suit your tastes.  I decided to make my own.  I don't keep plain tomato juice in the house, but I always have tomato paste, so why not dilute it?  I absolutely love tomato paste.  It is so versatile, you can make tomato sauce with it, add it to soups and stews, and now I have found out you can make tomato juice with it.  I love that I can now, easily, make my own bloody mary mix using my favorite spices and hot sauce.

#Tomatopaste rocks | #Homemade #BloodyMary Mix  [Tweet this]

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

Ingredients:

1 6oz can tomato paste
3 1/2-4 cups water
4 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions or 1-2 Tbsp onion powder
1/4 cup hot sauce (I used Big Daddy's Ass Burn Sauce, use your favorite)
1 tsp celery salt
few shakes celery seed
1/2 cup cilantro (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Use less water if you like a thicker bloody mary, use as much hot sauce as you like or leave it out altogether.  I used green onions and cilantro just because I had some that needed to be used.

Pour the blended mixture into a large saucepan and heat to a boil (if you are worried about chunks pour mixture through a wire mesh strainer to catch any larger chunks).  It doesn't need to boil long, just let it reach a boil then remove from heat.  This just helps take off the raw flavor from the garlic, onions, and cilantro.  If you use only dried spices you could probably skip this step.

Refrigerate at least over night to allow the flavors to meld.  Pour over vodka and garnish how ever you like.  You can rim the glass with celery salt, add a stick of celery, pickles or olives. I used a stick of bacon.

Drink, watch football, and enjoy.

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Black Beans and Rice

A complete one dish dinner with black beans, rice, meat, and vegetables.  All cooked in one pot.

I made this black beans and rice so that I could have a complete and balanced meal in one dish, and it only required one pot for cooking.  With a little prep work this dinner is very simple to prepare and relatively inexpensive for a tasty and complete dinner.  It also made a big pot's worth that I was happy to eat all week.

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

1/2 pound  Mexican chorizo
1-2 jalapenos, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 bunches of spinach or other dark green leafy, roughly chopped
2 cups (cooked) black beans
1 cup rice
1 14oz can chicken broth
1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 6oz can tomato paste
salt and pepper

In a large pot, cook the chorizo, over medium heat, until thoroughly cooked. Keep the grease, or at least some of it (for flavor).

Add the onion and peppers (and some salt and pepper) sauteing, with the chorizo, until tender (you can remove the jalapeno seeds if you don't want the spiciness, or omit the jalapenos all together).

Add the spinach (I used choy sum, which is always prevalent in Chinatown) and cover the pot so that it will steam and cook down (you shouldn't need to add any extra liquid because the onion and peppers release plenty when cooking).

When spinach is soft and wilted add the beans (I used beans I had cooked earlier, but you could use canned just drain and rinse) and rice.  Then add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste.

Allow the liquid to boil then reduce the temperature to low, cover, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the rice is soft and fluffy (add some water if it's too dry).  I did not drain the diced tomatoes when I cooked this and it ended up a little soupy, so I let it simmer with the top off for a while until it was thicker.

Remove from heat and serve topped with cilantro and cheese if you desire.  It is great with tortilla chips on the side too.

Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy.

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Chicken Tikka Masala

Roasted chicken in a spicy and creamy tomato sauce.  A great use for leftover rotisserie chicken.

My husband called to warn me he was bringing home a rotisserie chicken.  We don't eat chicken very often, it's just boring, but we love rotisserie chicken.  At $5.00 for a whole chicken that is moist and flavorful, what's not to love?  We had a couple of meals of just chicken with vegetables on the side, and then still had plenty of meat to pick off the bones.  I also save the carcass (freeze it) to make chicken stock.  For $5.00 this bird gets plenty of use.  I had close to 2 cups of chicken meat to use in this recipe and it made 4 servings.  We had 8 (4 for 2 people) meals from this chicken, it's hard to go wrong with that.  I told hubby to bring home rotisserie chicken whenever he feels like it.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp ginger, minced
2 chilies, minced
1/4 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander

1-2 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
1-6oz can tomato paste
1-14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups cooked chicken, torn
1 cup cream (I used kefir)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add oil (I used coconut oil) and cumin seeds until the seeds sputter.

Then add the ginger, garlic, and chili until they soften and are fragrant (about 1 minute).

Next add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent.  Add the tomato paste and spices, mixing thoroughly and then the diced tomatoes and chicken.

Last, add the cream (I used kefir or use yogurt or sour cream you could also use milk it just won't be as creamy) and mix well.  Allow to simmer over low heat until the chicken is warmed through and sauce it to your desired thickness.  Add salt to taste and a bit of honey if it is too sour.

Serve over rice with cilantro on top.  Flatbread and green vegetables make a great side.  Serves 4.

Enjoy.

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