The Best Pizza Sauce

I got this recipe for pizza sauce from my sister Diane many years ago.  It was published in their Wyndmere, North Dakota Centennial cookbook, so I haven't lost it like I usually have done with great recipes, but wanted to put it on here for the kids etc to have easy access to.  It makes a huge batch, but I don't mind at all because I have plenty of people who like to get some of it to freeze and have on hand for their homemade pizzas and other dishes they use pizza sauce with, or just for dipping with.  It has very little sugar also which is a plus, as a ton of the bought sauce is loaded with.  This is really fresh tasting and not tinny either like the canned stuff.  I usually try to use it up within 6 months though because I think the taste changes when it sits in the freezer too long.  My one daughter makes a recipe sometimes for a French bread pizza (my sister, Karen's recipe) where you just slice the bread in half the long way, hollow out most of the bread in the center (make homemade croutons with it!~) then add some sauce fairly lightly in the bottom, add whatever pizza toppings you like, such as cooked sausage and pepperoni, olives, onions-whatever, and then add your mozzarella/cheddar or any pizza cheese, and bake on a rack in the oven covered with tin foil, or a baking sheet, at 400 until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasty, maybe 12-15 minutes.  cut in slices and eat.  She also makes Mexican pizza a lot with it.  Experiment and enjoy!

PIZZA SAUCE: (I put mine in the crockpot on high for 4 hours, but you can put it in a large kettle and let it simmer for 3 hours which is what the recipe suggests, I just don't like watching it, so do it this way)

In a large crockpot combine:
2-(29 oz) cans of tomato sauce plus 1/2 can of 8 oz tomato sauce (6-1/2 cups total)
3 cups of water
1 Tablespoon black pepper
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon crushed oregano
1 Tablespoon crushed sweet basil (regular basil)
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese (I use the grated fresh)

Cook on high for 4 hours in the crock pot (or 3 hours in a kettle on the stove on simmer). 

ADD:  4 (12 ounce) cans of tomato paste and 3 cups more of water stirring until smooth. 

put in half pint jars and freeze until ready to use.  I just put 1 cup portions in freezer zip lock bags and squeeze the air out as much as possible so they lay flat and freeze them that way. 

Tomato Tuna Melts

I am a stuffed tomato fan-stuffed with ham salad, chicken salad or tuna salad, so when I saw this posting on Skinnytaste.com I had to make some.  For her recipe just go to her site.  It's a little different than mine because I am a Miracle Whip person and I used American cheese slices because I didn't have Cheddar at home.  I really liked them and they were easy to make.  I had some fresh Colorado peaches with it and it filled me up on a week night besides. 

Here you go:

TOMATO TUNA MELTS:
1 can (5 oz) tuna in water drained.
2 Tablespoons Miracle Whip salad dressing
1 center stalk celery finely chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion (I used yellow sweet)
2 ripe tomatoes, halved (I got fresh from the garden ones)
some salt and pepper
4 slices American cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the broiler to high, pull the top rack and line with aluminum foil. 

Season the cut tomatoes with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the rest of the ingredients, season lightly with salt and pepper.

divide the tuna mixture in 4 and put one portion on top of each tomato.  add a slice of cheese on top of each.  Put on rack and then place the rack on the second rung down from the broiler.  watch carefully..the cheese melts fast and will burn.  Remove from the oven and serve.  you can use the same recipe but substitute cooked chicken or diced ham..

Eggs in the Hole for Breakfast

I felt like eggs this morning, so I made a dish from long ago that I used to make on occasion.  I haven't made this for years, but don't know why because it's a one dish wonder and kind of fun to eat besides!  I happened to have some left over French bread so I used a thicker slice of that, cut out an oval shaped hole in the middle for the egg to sit in, melted some butter in a non-stick fry pan and browned the one side of the bread, meanwhile putting an egg in the hole to start setting it.  Then when the one side was browned I carefully flipped it over to cook the egg the rest of the way and also brown that side.  You have to use a medium to medium low heat so they don't burn before the egg is soft cooked.  You can eat it this way, or add your favorite French toast topping..I added some maple syrup on mine and it was yummy!  Fun for kids and for adults!

Strawberry (or any other flavor) Oatmeal Bars

I haven't baked for a while with the hot weather we have been having, but when I saw a posting for this on Facebook, I decided I should give it a try and use up some strawberry rhubarb jam I had opened in the fridge when my sister, Karen, came up to visit me from Florida.  I usually open a jar and then forget about it until I have to toss it, so glad I ran across this.  I had all the ingredients at home already in my cupboards or fridge, so that was another big plus about the recipe.  It is a super yummy bar!  I cut one as soon it came out of the oven for a photo and to taste of course, but I added a big blob of ice cream to cool it down and that made it extra extra good!  I will try other flavors of jam again with it, like apple butter, peach jam, blueberry, cherry etc.  so good and almost tastes like thumbprint cookies or a fruit crumble without all the work involved with those.  Here is the recipe..it came from the Pioneer Woman's recipe collection..

Strawberry-Oatmeal Bars:

1-3/4 sticks of cold butter cut into small pieces
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups oats (quick or regular-I had quick so used those)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 jar (10-12 ounces) strawberry preserves

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan (I actually did use butter and not spray)

Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.  cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs (I used my hands/fingers).  Sprinkle half the mixture into the pan and pat lightly to pack it a little tight.  Spoon preserves evenly over the surface, then spread carefully so it's evenly over the crust.  sprinkle the other half of the oat mixture over the top and pat lightly again. 

Bake until light golden brown on top, about 35-40 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan. 

When cool, cut into squares and serve. 

A New Summer Banner for My Cube at Work

About a month ago, or so, my granddaughter Sam came over to make her 4H project for this year for the fair, and while she was working away on her table topper I decided to sew a new welcome banner for my cube at work.  I really didn't have a summery one yet and the spring one with the tulips and umbrella just was not working anymore.  I did get the whole top finished, but never did get the final touches like quilting it and putting on the binding.  I decided yesterday to get myself in gear and finish it before it is time for my fall one because summer is already speeding by and I was tired of looking at it on my cutting table downstairs reminding me that I have way too many works in progress.  I am calling the quilting on it "whimsical" because it's freestyle and kind of messy on the flowers and letters, but it works to hold the applique down and kind of suits it for some reason!  I will be glad to have something bright and new at work..suppose that means I should clean the rest of my cube huh? 

 

oh, and here is Sam with her 4H project-she quilted it this year by herself too..I wanted her to have some experience on how to finish her tops..it's just some basic diagonal lines, but she didn't get any puckers on the front or back and sewed nice and straight, so great job Sam!

 

 

 

 

Rosemarina or Orzo Chicken Salad

I made a double batch of this salad today for a party we are having tomorrow.  Instead of chicken in it I used a turkey I had in my freezer and roasted that for the meat.  I think it tastes just as good, or better, with the turkey, so something you could definitely make with turkey leftovers from the holidays.  I hadn't made this for a while, but Dave used to like it a lot back when, and my daughter, Kim, has made it a few times recently and brought it back to my mind.  I used to always use Rosemarina noodles in it, but they are kind of hard to find so now used Orzo noodles which are really similar.  There's not much to say that's negative about this salad, cashews, and some crunchy celery etc make it a great summer dish.

ROSEMARINA OR ORZO SALAD:

1 box of either or the above, prepared as per box directions and cooled (I rinse it under cold water)

4 cooked and diced chicken breasts (or equivalent turkey) or two large chicken breasts.

4-5 stalks of celery-I like the inner stalks) diced finely

1 small bunch of green onions (mostly white parts) diced finely

1 smaller can cashews

1 small jar diced pimentos

1/2 of a quart jar of HELLMAN'S mayonnaise (I add about 1/2 cup or so of Miracle Whip too)

1 Tablespoon dried parsley

seasoning salt to taste, maybe 2 teaspoons, add as needed..use  your favorite brand, I used one I got through the Farm Stand kitchen website-very good)

Mix together, can eat right away..(can also add small red grapes if desired)

Shrimp and Scallop Kabobs (Vern's recipe)

My brother-in-law and my sister, Karen, from Florida made these for my son, Joe, and I when we went down there last year and stayed with them.  I really liked them so he gave me his recipe.  This weekend my granddaughter, Sam, stayed over and sewed her 4H project..a table topper made with limited addition Minnesota Statewide shop hop fabric from last year (we still have to quilt it another day soon-making her do that this year) but anyway, she mentioned she never had scallops before and wanted to try them.  I immediately thought of these kabobs so we went to the local store and bought the supplies we needed and came home and I had her make the marinade and sauce we like with them so she could make them at home too.  She likes to cook and has been doing quite a bit of it this last year.  She said she thought they were super good, and I guess everyone thought so because they were all gone quickly, should have doubled the amount!  They each had 2-3 skewers though with rice pilaf, corn on the cob, and cut up fruit and then lemon meringue and chocolate pie for dessert.  Sam wanted me to post the recipe for the kabobs so she could pull it up here, so here goes.  (The sauce is on a previous post..just type sauce in the search bar above and options should come up)

SHRIMP AND SCALLOP KABOBS:
1 lb large or extra large shrimp, cleaned and deveined and tails pulled off (I use frozen)
1 lb bay scallops  (both of these shrink a lot so I try to get bigger shrimp)

Marinade: Mix together with a whisk until well blended in a small bowl
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 garlic cloves squished
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Put shrimp and scallops in a large heavyweight zip lock bag, pour marinade over them and make sure they are all covered in marinade.  Lay flat in the fridge for 4 hours-flipping the bag once to make sure both sides get plenty of marinade.  in the meantime soak wooden skewers in water.  heat up your grill or grill pan if you don't have a grill, and lace up your skewers with every other shrimp and a scallop leaving room at the bottom for you to be able to turn them.  Toss the marinade and the bag and grill until done about 10-12 minutes.  Makes 10 longer skewers with about 4 shrimp and 4 scallops on each one or if you are making appetizer size a few shrimp and 3 scallops on more..