Ginger Glazed Carrots

6 medium carrots, thinly sliced (3 cups)
2 T packed brown sugar
2 T butter
1/2 t ground ginger

cook carrots in water 5 minutes, drain and set carrots aside
cook sugar, butter, and ginger in pan over medium heat, stir until bubbly
stir in carrots
cook 2/4 minutes over low heat until carrots are glazed and hot

Broccoli Tomato Salad

1 large bunch broccoli, separated into florets
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
3/4 C sliced fresh mushrooms
2 green onions, sliced

Dressing:

3/4 C oil
1/3 C vinegar
2 T water
1 t lemon juice
1 t sugar
1 t salt (optional)
3/4 t thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t celery seed
1/4 t italian seasoning
1/4 t lemon-pepper
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t ground mustard

cook broccoli until crisp-tender, cool and drain
mix with other vegetables
mix dressing, pour over veggies
toss gently
voer and chill for 1 hour

25 Year Tomato Sauce

Why didn't I snap a picture?! I am calling it 25 year because I've been married for almost 25 years and therefore cooking for almost 25 years and it has taken me until this day to make a sauce that's good enough for me to think THIS IS IT! I will still make meat sauce from time to time, and my aunt's pasta sauce with meatballs is to die for, but it takes all day, so this is now my go-to sauce, now I can stop buying jarred sauce!

To give credit where credit is due, I started with Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce, which I have made a couple of times and was really, really good. But when I went to make it a third time, I decided to add some stuff. I live in the northeast, surrounded by people with Italian heritage, and people around here, whether of Italian heritage or not, HAVE THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT TOMATO SAUCE. So I am not claiming that this will be everyone's favorite, but it is MY favorite, and my family loved it. (Can't wait to try it on my extended family to see what they think.)

I love the taste of tomato paste. I think it deepens the flavor of the tomatoes and makes the taste less sharp. I didn't have an onion, so I used onion powder, next time I may use an onion; I don't think that is a deal breaker on the sauce. Lastly, I did not have anymore San Marzano tomatoes, which are $4/can around here! I used organic canned tomatoes and tomato paste from my local warehouse store and it was still delicious.

So here it is (this made more than enough for a pound of pasta).

1 (28 oz) can tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
7 Tbs butter  Yes, that is right, you may be able to cut back a bit, but the butter makes this amazing.
 2 - 3 tsp Italian seasoning
@ 1 tsp salt
@ 1 tsp sugar
@ 1 tsp onion powder or chopped onion or a whole onion removed, whatever floats your boat

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat, then turn down to a simmer for about one hour, partially covering pot to cut down on splatters. Stir frequently, breaking up the large tomatoes with a spoon as you stir. You can always blend the tomatoes before putting them in the pot if you don't want to have to break them up while stirring, just make sure stir anyway. I included the diced tomatoes because I like the little bit of substance they contribute to the sauce.

Since I am trying to lose weight, I bought a vegetable spiral cutter and had my sauce over spiral cut zucchini. Yum! I really didn't miss the pasta because the sauce was so good. And no mozzarella cheese like the rest of my family had.

By the way, I lost nine pounds in my first week and yes, a lot of that is water, but I have edema so losing water is a very good thing! It's still nine pounds that I am no longer carrying around!

Ginger Glazed Carrots

The image comes from italicious.wordpress.com, but the recipe comes from Betty Crocker's Good and Easy  Cookbook.

These are super easy and super delicious.

Ginger Glazed Carrots

6 medium carrots, thinly sliced (I use my mandolin slicer so they are even thinner than in the photo above)
2 T packed brown sugar (isn't fun trying to pack brown sugar in a tablespoon?)
2 T butter
1/2 t ground ginger


In saucepan, barely cover carrots with water
Bring water to a boil, cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender
Drain and set carrots aside
In same pot, melt and heat brown sugar, butter, and ginger, stirring constantly, until bubbly
Add carrots back to pot, stir and cook 2-4 minutes on low heat until carrots are glazed and hot.

How About Some Tomatoes?

(this photo comes from Google images)

Another attempt to sneak in some healthy goodness to my otherwise high carb diet.

This morning a cut up some tomato and threw it in a pan, added an egg and scrambled.

I do not really like cooked tomatoes, but these were not in the pan very long.

Then I toasted a wheat bagel with one slice of cheese and made an egg sandwich.

Again, my usual choice would be a scrambled egg and a bagel, but throwing in the tomato took nothing away from the overall eating experience, and provided me with a serving of vegetables (well, probably half a serving).

Getting those Yellow Veggies

I've had various winter squashes (that word just doesn't seem right) sitting in my pantry for a month(s). I buy them because I know they are good for you, and I actually like them, but... I've never mastered the art of cooking them. Once in awhile I'll buy it from the store already peeled and cut in chunks, but I'm trying to save some $$$ and cut up chunks of squash do not last long in one's pantry, certainly not a month(s). So, behold, I found some great info on one of my favorite blogs The Lazy Organizer. She wrote a post on making baby food, which is not necessary in my house, as my kids are ages 15, 12, and 10, and we all still have our teeth, but within that post she wrote about steaming the squash. Follow the link - she has great pictures.


So, I steamed it, peeled it, mashed it up with a fork, and added butter and brown sugar. It hit 3 out of 4 of my "what will make me want to try it" criteria (in order of importance), it was

easy

quick

tasty

The only one it missed was

my kids will eat it

Trust me, there are not many things that make that category.

This post was part of the Lazy Organizer's Talk about Tuesday carnival.

Give it a look.

Oh, and if you have a hard time cutting up the uncooked squash, it helps to have a sharp knife. But you probably already knew that.
I have to learn things the hard way.