Saturday, May 24, 2014

Homemade Meat Sauce

Homemade Meat Sauce
From the kitchen of Stephanie



Ingredients:

1 yellow onion, diced
1 bulb of garlic, minced (yes all of it)
Fresh Parsley (to taste)...dried will work if you don't have fresh
1 tbsp butter (the real stuff)
1 tbsp EVOO
1 lb Ground Beef (Organic-Grass-fed is preferred)
3 cans tomato sauce (15 oz each)
1 can diced tomatoes

Seasonings (all to taste):

Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Dried Basil
Dried Oregano


Directions:

1. Add onion, garlic, parsley (I use about a tsp if fresh, if dried, a little more), EVOO, and butter to a large sauce pan.....saute for about 3-5 minutes
2. Add ground beef...I like to spread out the ground beef while it's raw and sprinkle about a tsp of each seasoning on top of the beef. Brown the meat in pan over medium heat.
3. Once meat is browned, add the canned tomatoes and turn heat down to medium/low. Add a pinch more salt. Stir for a few minutes.
4. Next, add the cans of tomato sauce and another tsp of each seasoning. Turn heat down to low and cover with a lid.
5. Now, you can cook this for another 5 minutes and use it or if you have time, let it simmer on low, covered (unless you want a mess to clean up) for up to 2-3 hours. The flavor only gets better.

***This quantity usually is enough for us to feed our family of four, make a left over bowl for my husband to take to work and then there is enough to freeze for another meal later in the month. If you are going to freeze the leftover portion of the sauce, make sure to cool completely.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Homemade Lemon Vinaigrette

Homemade Lemon Vinaigrette
From the Kitchen of Stephanie



Juice of 1 Myer Lemon
2-3 TBSP Rice Wine Vinegar
Pinch of Thyme
1 Clove Garlic, minced
2 TBSP Diced Shallot
EVOO, to taste (I like my dressing a little more acidic)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together except for the EVOO. Then Slowly add EVOO until it reaches the taste and consistency you like. I like to make my dressing about an hour before I'm going to dress my salad, so that the flavors can really blend.

I like to add this to Mixed greens, avocado, feta, cooked bacon, bell pepper, candied pecans, and diced green onion. :) It's one of my favorite salads :)