Tasty Tuesday!

I am so stuffed right now. You know how sometimes you make food you really like and you eat just a little bit too much just because it's so good? I did that tonight. Then again, I'm pretty sure the wee ones did, too!

Traditionally in many families, Monday night is pizza night. I'm all for that tradition, but I can't justify eating out that often -- especially when it's so easy to make homemade pizza that tastes oh-so-good (and that Little Miss can eat).

So tonight I made a homemade pizza with a whole wheat crust. Yum.

The crust is super easy, and I shared this one a long time ago (just sub out 2/3 whole wheat flour for the white flour and add a touch more oil and water) here.

Tonight, you're getting my easy sauce. This is the sauce that I use for spaghetti (less blended), lasagne (medium blended), pizza (completely blended), meatball subs (medium blended), and more! It's super quick and tastes great.

Fifteen Minute Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can of tomatoes (make sure you get the low sodium ones) - whole, diced, whatever you like best, although I usually do the dieced ones because I'm lazy unless I'm frustrated, then I use the whole ones and squish them by hand
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1-2 T olive oil
1 T dried parsley
1 1/2 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
grated cheese to taste, if you so desire (which I do, but I can't add due to Little Miss's dairy allergy)

Directions:
Heat a sturdy saucepan on medium heat (I love my Le Creuset for this) until the bottom is fairly warm. Then add the olive oil. While the olive oil is heating, peel and slice the garlic.

Add the garlic, once the olive oil is shimmery. Immediately use a can opener to open the can of tomatoes. You want the tomatoes in there within about forty-five seconds of getting the garlic in there so that the garlic is fragrant but not colored at all.

Once the tomatoes are in, add your dried herbs and the salt and pepper. Stir, then let simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. Use an immersion blender (or a regular one in batches) to blend it to the consistency you desire.

You can obviously use fresh herbs, as well. However, if you are doing so, you want to add three times the quantity and do so at the end of cooking so that you don't kill the flavor. Ok, the oregano can go into the pot with the tomatoes -- but only because I'm not a huge fan of oregano to begin with.

This is a super forgiving. Put in what you want, adjust the quantities to your liking, and enjoy. You don't even want to know the last time I bought jarred pasta sauce. This tastes so much better (to me), and it's also far cheaper.

Enjoy more recipes at Blessed With Grace and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday!