If you’ve been following along with me for a while you’ll know that Friday nights are pizza nights in our house.  Well actually, we’ve made it every Friday fortnight now so we don’t overdose on pizzas.  After refining my easy pizza dough recipe, I’ve now settled on a pizza sauce that I’m really happy with.

Over the years I’ve tried quite a few options from tomato paste straight from the jar, to slices of fresh tomato.  But I have to say that this recipe is not only really simple and uses ingredients always on hand (there are only 3 so that’s not hard), but it really does add to the flavour of the pizza.

Sometimes it amazes me that something so simple can make such a difference in cooking, but in the case of this sauce, it is true.  Simple, delicious and we couldn’t have our pizzas any other way now.  Hope your family enjoys it too.

Pizza Sauce

440g tin of diced Italian (roma) tomatoes

1 tsp dried oregano

Black pepper

Method

Tip the tomatoes into a saucepan or small frying pan and stir through the oregano.  Sprinkle in black pepper to taste and bring the mixture to the boil.  Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened.  If you prefer a smooth sauce, allow it to cool slightly and then blend or process until smooth.  Spoon over pizza base and add toppings.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Any tinned tomatoes can be used, however the Italian ones give the best flavour for this recipe.
• Blending the sauce to a smooth consistency is entirely optional.  The picture above shows it unprocessed and chunky.  It is great either way.
• This sauce is great for a simple Margarita pizza.  Just add a few a bits of basil and some fresh mozzarella and you’re done.

Any recipe that involves only one pan and can be prepared in less than 30 minutes is always going to catch my eye – and so it was with this One Pan Chicken with Spinach I came across recently.

Apart from being simple and quick to prepare, another great thing about this recipe is the inclusion of quite a few vegetables plus rice making it a well rounded dish.  I must also admit that it’s been far too long since we had anything with spinach in it, so it was a good chance to give the kids taste buds a ‘reminder’.

The dish, spinach and all, was very well received by the whole family.  Hope yours enjoy it too.

One pan chicken with spinach

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, halved & sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

400g diced chicken breast

2 teaspoons Moroccan seasoning

400g can diced tomatoes

½ cup frozen peas

½ cup rice

½ cup water

250g frozen spinach

Method

Heat oil in frying pan.  Add onion and garlic and cook on medium-low for a few minutes until softened.  Turn heat up to medium and add the chicken.  Sprinkle over the seasoning and fry until golden.  Stir in tomatoes, peas, rice and water.  Stir well to combine.

Place the frozen spinach into the middle of the pan.  Leave it to defrost slightly and then break it up with a wooden spoon and stir through.  Cover with lid, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Recipe from Woolworths magazine

Happy New Year! It’s been a while since I last posted but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking. On the contrary there’s been plenty of culinary delights being prepared and so lot’s of new recipes to share.

The Christmas/New Year break whizzed past and it has been an exciting time for us. Not just because of all the seasonal festivities, but we’ve sold a business, bought a caravan (we’re off travelling in about 6 weeks) and are in the throes of buying a new car (we now need a REALLY big one to tow the van). Plus, with school holidays in full swing there has been lots of playing, crafting, movie watching, swimming and visiting going on. It has truly been a great start to the year.

Anyway, on to the Quick Beef Goulash recipe. This is a great speedy recipe that I’ve made many times and is always well received. It has all the traditional goulash flavours but can be made in minutes. Don’t forget the dollop of sour cream to top it off – yum!

Quick Beef Goulash

Recipe from Super Food Ideas

Quick Beef Goulash

Ingredients

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
500g rump steak, cut into strips
1 brown onion, thinly sliced
200g button mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 tablespoon ground paprika
400g can condensed tomato soup
400g can diced tomatoes
Parsley, chopped, to serve
Sour cream, to serve

Method

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in frying pan over high heat. Add half of the rump and cook quickly, stir frying, for 3 minutes or until well browned. Set aside and repeat with remaining meat.

Reduce heat to medium and heat remaining oil. Add onions and mushrooms. Cook until tender – about 5 minutes, and then add paprika. Cook stirring for 1 minute.

Add soup and tomatoes, stir well and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Return beef and juices to the pan. Simmer for 3 minutes or until heated through. Season to taste.

Serve over steamed rice (I used brown rice), sprinkle with parsley and add a dollop of sour cream.

Pasta is one of my family’s favourite meals and when tomatoes are in abundance, there are two ways I like to prepare a Tomato Pasta Sauce.  Either version is simple, bursting with flavor and looks fantastic on the plate.

The first version (not this one – but coming soon), is where the tomatoes are only slightly cooked, or really just warmed through and tossed through the pasta with lots of fresh herbs and parmesan.

In this version of Tomato Pasta Sauce, the tomatoes are roasted which brings an entirely different flavor to the dish.  Also, this sauce can be incorporated into other recipes unlike the ‘fresh’ sauce which is best served on its own.

Once you’ve tried a Tomato Pasta Sauce like this, it’s addictive and you don’t ever look at canned or bottled varieties in the same light.  They just don’t quite measure up, but of course still have a use – particularly when there isn’t the luxury of fresh tomatoes on hand.

Roasted Tomato Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

1kg of good quality, ripened tomatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt or salt flakes
Freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 200C (390F).

Cut tomatoes in half and place cut side up onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Brush or drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Tomatoes going into the oven

Cook the tomatoes for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and cool long enough to handle.

Roasted Tomatoes

Remove the skins from the tomatoes – they should slip off quite easily.

Peeling tomatoes

Place tomatoes into a food processor and blend for a few seconds – long enough to make a fine tomato sauce.

Tomato Pasta Sauce

Use immediately or store in a covered container in the refrigerator for 5 days.  The sauce can also be frozen for up to 2 months.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Using good quality tomatoes is important – roma or vine ripened are best.
• The tomatoes can be roasted for a longer time which will give a more intense flavor.  Reduce the temperature to 110C (230F) and roast for 3 hours.
• The sauce can be served on its own over pasta with fresh parmesan.  Another easy dish is simply to add some chopped cooked meats such as sausage, ham or bacon to the sauce and again, serve over pasta.  Alternatively incorporate it into any recipe that requires a tomato sauce.
• Add different flavours to the sauce by sprinkling any of the following over the tomatoes before roasting – minced garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, mint, finely chopped onion or shallots.

If you have any comments or questions about this recipe, please leave them below.

Well it’s not secret that we love pizza in our house, and scrolling through some food magazines recently I found a new twist on our beloved pizza – Pizza Pie!  Same great flavours, just a different twist for the base and assembly.  Really, I guess it’s just like a deep dish pizza except it uses shortcrust pastry and not our usual easy pizza dough.

We couldn’t wait to try it out, and I must say, it was a triumph.  Not a drop or crumb left, in fact my daughter hungrily devoured anything left.  I was hoping for some lunch leftovers the next day, but not to be.  So if you are a pizza fan, you must try this Pizza Pie recipe.  It would be easy to add any of your favourite ingredients and build a custom version, just like we do with pizza.

Pizza Pie

Pizza Pie

Adapted from Delicious, July 2002

Ingredients

Ready rolled shortcrust pastry, sufficient to line a 23cm pan
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped oregano (and/or basil)
50g salami, roughly chopped
100g mozzarella cheese, grated
12 kalamata olives, pitted

How to Build Your Pie

Preheat oven to 190C.  Grease a 23cm pan or dish with the pastry sheet.  To blind bake the pastry, line it with non-stick baking paper and fill with rice, dried pulses or pastry weights.  Bake for 10 minutes, remove paper and return the pan to the oven for a further 5 minutes.  The pastry should be dry and crisp, ready to be filled.

Pizza Pie pastry crust

Heat oil in pan and add onion.  Cook over a low heat until softened for about 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook for a further 1 minute.  Set aside to cool for 10 minutes on paper towel.

Strain tomatoes through a sieve and save the juice for another dish if possible (I used mine in a tomato soup the next night).  Combine the tomatoes with the herbs and season well.

Now it’s time to compile the pizza.  Spread the onion mixture over the base.  Top with a layer of salami, followed by tomato, then cheese and finally the olives.  Bake for 25 minutes until the cheese has melted.  Great served with a garden salad.

Use whatever fillings take your fancy, but if they have a high moisture content eg mushrooms, cook them first to release the moisture before adding to the pie.  Let me know what you try and how it turns out.

This dish is a bit addictive, just ask my daughter.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Enjoy!

During the height of winter there is nothing better than a warming bowl of soup.  This Red Lentil & Tomato Soup from Sanitarium was in my Sunday paper recently and made the perfect winter dinner.

A soup like this not only oozes warmth (not least because it’s a beautiful reddish orange colour) but it also oozes ‘healthy’.  A tasty combination of vegetables, lentils and spices it is a cinch to make and ready in under half an hour.

Red Lentil & Tomato Soup

Red Lentil Tomato Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
500g packet dried red lentils, washed
7 cups water
2 x 440g cans tomatoes
415g can tomato soup
2 zucchini, grated

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute onion, garlic and spices until transparent and spices are fragrant.  Add remaining ingredients except zucchini and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes then add zucchini.  Season to taste and simmer a further 5 minutes.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Don’t drop the grater into the pan (like I did) when grating the zucchini.
• Coriander and cumin could be replaced with a curry powder for a slightly different taste.
• Serve with nice crusty bread or damper.

Enjoy!