Pasta Tomato Sauce

This pasta sauce can be made meatless if you wish. I made it with extra-lean ground beef (you could use ground turkey or chicken as well). I served it over whole wheat rotini pasta, with a generous sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add a side salad and you've got a healthy, balanced meal. This recipe makes about 5 litres of sauce.


Ingredients:

2 tbsps olive oil
1 lb extra lean ground beef, chicken or turkey (if using)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 cans (28 oz each) Italian-style plum tomatoes in puree, diced (if using whole canned tomatoes, just pour the contents of the can into a dish and use a pair of scissors to chop them into about 1 inch pieces)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
3 heaping tbsps tomato paste
2 tbsps red wine or red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp dried chili peppers
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1. In large dutch oven or saucepot, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add ground meat and break up with a fork. Stir and cook until about almost done and meat is just slightly pink. Add onion and cook until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.

2. Add tomatoes with puree, chicken broth, salt, and pepper to meat mixture; heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium. Add tomato paste and red wine & stir to incorporate; cover and cook five minutes. Add chili peppers & basil; reduce temperature to low and cook, partially covered for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Cranberry Chicken Curry with Roasted Vegetables

This is a variation of a recipe found in a great cookbook that I bought recently, called "The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook". You can find more information on this book & the author, Tosca Reno, at www.eatcleandiet.com or www.toscareno.com -- No, I am not on a diet, but this book is more about a lifestyle, rather than depriving yourself of healthy, wholesome food. The original recipe called for skinless, boneless chicken breasts, but I used chicken thighs with the bone in and skin on---I just browned the chicken first, removed the skin and then put it in the marinade. I found the chicken thighs were juicier ( I tried the skinless breast version but did not like it). The original recipe called for dried apricots, but I used dried cranberries--only because that was what I had on hand and I knew they would make a great alternative. Also, instead of "garam masala", which is a blend of dry roasted spices often used in Pakistani/Indian cuisine, I used a combination of cumin and hot dried chili peppers. This recipe is for 3 servings but can easily be doubled.

Ingredients for cranberry chicken curry:

6 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
1tsp cumin
1 tsp dried chili peppers
1, one inch piece fresh ginger root, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon or lime juice
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or apricots--if using apricots, chop them into thirds)
1/3 cup low fat, low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1 sweet onion, finely sliced
6 tbsps medium salsa
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Ingredients for roasted vegetables:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into one inch pieces
1 sweet potato (yam), sliced into one inch rings and then quartered
1 large red sweet pepper, thinly sliced
1 bunch of broccoli, flowerets cut off & stalks peeled and sliced
1/2 red onion, cut into large chunks

Preparation for chicken:

1. In a large skillet, brown chicken well over medium heat, turning once. Remove skin & discard. Dispose of pan drippings.
2. Prepare marinade of chili peppers, cumin, ginger root, garlic, orange juice and lemon or lime juice. Place chicken in marinade, cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
3. In a separate bowl, cover dried cranberries (or apricots) with water & soak for 2 hours. Drain.
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Coat a shallow casserole dish with olive oil. Layer onions and cranberries (0r apricots) on the bottom. Remove chicken from marinade and place, bone side down, over onions and cranberries. Pour marinade and chicken stock over top of the chicken. Spoon one tbsp of salsa over each piece of chicken. Season with sea salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Preparation for roasted vegetables:

1. In a medium sized shallow roasting pan, drizzle olive oil across the bottom. Add garlic and vegetables, including onions. Do NOT cover. Place in the same 350F oven with the chicken and roast for one hour, tossing gently once after 30 minutes.

Chicken Cacciatore

Cacciatore is the Italian word for "hunter". This recipe is a variation on a recipe that I received from a former co-worker (thanks Jim!). The original recipe had a few less ingredients but also had 1 whole clove added to the sauce during cooking. While I loved this flavouring, my husband did not. Therefore, I have used dried chili peppers in place of the cloves. This recipe serves about 6 people. It is also excellent reheated as left-overs! If you want to add more greens to it, you can stir in some baby spinach at the end of the cooking time.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1/2 jar (about 150 ml) fire roasted sweet red peppers
1 onion sliced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
4 medium white potatoes, quartered
2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced into one inch rings and then halved
1 cup of chicken broth
1 tsp dried chili peppers (or more, depending on your heat tolerance)
1 cup ripe oil-cured black olives
2 cans (28 oz each) diced tomatoes, with juice
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp thyme, oregano & basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
chicken: use bone-in & skin-on chicken--either 6 chicken breasts or 12 thighs or a combination of both.


1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in large dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, chopped red pepper, and celery. Saute until onion is soft. Combine all remaining ingredients, except chicken, with the onion mixture and simmer slowly for at least 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, brown chicken in skin, on both sides, slowly, in large nonstick skillet. Remove to paper towels and drain off fat. Cut skin off and discard. Transfer chicken to the prepared sauce and cover. Simmer, covered, on low, for about one hour or until tender.
3. Spoon chicken and vegetables onto plate and spoon sauce over them. Serve with fresh Italian bread.