Spaghetti with Roasted Vegetable Sauce

Here is how you make tomato sauce without doing too much. Chop some vegetables, roast the hell out of them and then puree them. They will cry out in pain after being burned and chopped up into a million pieces, but you will get to enjoy a sweet, savory sauce and your family will be eating more vegetables than they would like to acknowledge. Or maybe they would like to acknowledge. I don't know about your family, but they wouldn't have devoured this had I told them that there are 6 different kinds of vegetables in this. Yours might hip-hip-hooray at the thought of consuming loads of fresh veggies, but not mine.

Before hitting the heat.

I doubled this recipe so I could have a freezer meal for me and my family once Violet arrived. So when it came time for dinner, all I had to do was boil some pasta and reheat the sauce. It is just like a tomato sauce, but the roasted vegetables lend a certain sweetness that only roasted vegetables can. The flavor is more complex than a regular tomato sauce. Layers of different flavors.


Like my picnic table? It was our little weekend project a few weeks ago. Okay, strike that, reverse it. It was Ethan's project. I wanted a bright color for the table and it turned out just how I wanted. Of course, we love eating outside, until the mosquitos make their arrival in a few weeks. Eating outside makes for less mess and no cleaning the floor after wards. Looks like we can have couscous now! Cause I will tell you what, you are bananas for feeding children couscous if you aren't outside. Bananas.



4 tomatoes (medium or large, doesn't matter), quartered
2 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 2 inch pices
1 green bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 onion, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
A few grinds black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 14 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 lb spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Set oven to 400 degrees. Pile all vegetables onto a baking sheet. Add olive oil, vinegar and all seasonings on top. Toss gently with your hands until all vegetables are coated in oil and seasonings. Spread in a single layer. Place baking sheet in the oven and roast for 40 minutes, tossing with a spatula halfway through.

Once vegetables are softened and lighted browned, remove pan from the oven. Scoop all vegetables and any liquid into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Pour vegetable mixture into a large saucepan over medium heat and stir in tomato sauce. Bring to a light boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve sauce over cooked spaghetti and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Yields 6 servings.


Served with this: Some garlic bread that was most desirable and quite simple. All it was was my garlic herb compound butter spread onto some white bread slices and then topped with additional Parmesan cheese, just a bit. Then I put the slices on a baking sheet and then under the boiler for a few minutes. Result: toasty, buttery, garlicky, herbalicious.

THE END

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If you are wondering if Violet slept all night for the first time over the weekend, she did.

Chicken Enchiladas

I have been in the biggest cooking rut. Biggest. And in a recent moment of postpartum hormonal weirdness, I had made up my mind that I was going to quit this whole blogging business. It's a little frustrating to not be able to cook like I want to. Here is a list of my current food failures.

Peanut Butter Truffle Bars - FAIL
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce - FAIL
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Grapefruit Onion Sauce - FAIL
Orange and Garlic Marinated Chicken - FAIL

Basically, I have ceased to be able to create my own recipes. My gift of writing recipes left a few weeks ago, along with my placenta and I no longer can cook without specific direction. It's a shame, because it wasn't always that way. I used to develop some brilliant stuff. Not anymore. Maybe I needed this period of failures so that I can remember that there are actual cookbooks out there and they are filled with excellent recipes. So I will be making a trip to the library to get some cookbooks.

Note to self: Stop wasting ingredients and money and start following real live recipes.

This is a Tyler Florence recipe and it is BRILLIANT. Yes, I diddled with it a bit, but not much. Spicy heat from two types of chiles. Sweetness from tomatoes and corn. Savory bites of shredded chicken and two types of cheese. And great news, it can be frozen. Directions for cooking these in frozen form are at the end of this post.

Note to self: High five for starting to like cheese. Darling girl, I am proud of you.

I made an 8x8 inch pan of this for my family and then took the other half of the recipe and put it into a foil pan and froze it for my sister Caitlyn, the one having a baby in mid-June. p.s. I have two other foil pans that came in the pack from the grocery store. I want to make Caitlyn and her husband Tadd two other freezer meals and I am coming up with nothing. Any ideas?

Note to self: Don't make up the recipes for Caitlyn's freezer meals. You suck at doing that.



1 lb chicken breasts
Kosher salt and ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 15 oz can corn, drained
1 4 oz can diced green chiles
1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and minced
1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes, drained
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Mexican seasoning blend
1 15 oz can enchilada sauce or 1 1/2 cups homemade enchilada sauce
16 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Set oven to 350 degrees.

Pat dry and season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. Once the oil runs quickly in the pan, add the chicken breasts. Cook on each side for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside on a plate to cool. Once cooled, shred into bite-size pieces.

Increase the heat and add the onion, garlic, 1 tsp salt and a few grinds of ground pepper to the pan and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent and softened. Stir in corn, green chiles and chipotle chiles. Cook for 2 minutes. Add stewed tomatoes, cumin, garlic powder and Mexican
seasoning blend and cook for another minute. Fold in shredded chicken ad remove pan from heat.

In a 9x13 inch pan, pour in about 1/4 cup of enchilada sauce and tilt the pan to completely coat the bottom of the pan. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften them and make the pliable. Scoop in a scant 1/4 of filling into one of the tortillas and sprinkle about a tablespoon of shredded cheese on top. Roll tortilla up and set in the pan, seam side down. Repeat with all tortillas. Once all tortillas are rolled, pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle of the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream, avocados and cilantro.

Yields 6-8 servings.

Rookie's Notes: If you are cooking this and it's frozen, bake at the same temperature, 350 degrees, but increase the time to 45 minutes. Cover with foil and remove the foil when there are 10 minutes left.


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Lasagna with Sausage and Bacon

Here is a post partum meal that I made before Violet joined us. This one I made two of, one for us and one for my sister Caitlyn. My baby daughter is lucky that her closest cousin comes only a few weeks after her. Caitlyn's due date is exactly one month after mine. My gift to Caitlyn is freezer meals. When I made one for me, I made one for her. So once my new nephew joins the family in June, I will be unloading my freezer and heading over to Caitlyn's to fill her freezer.

I did this lasagna a little different. Most lasagna recipes are made in a 9x13 inch pan, but I split it into two 9x5 inch bread pans. I could have done 8x8 inch pans, but I like a big, thick piece of lasagna, so bread pans are perfect. I could have doubled the recipe, but I knew that my family and Caitlyn's wouldn't need an entire 9x13 inch pan of lasagna. A 9x5 inch bread pan was perfect. If you have a small family, make this lasagna in two pans and then freeze one. All the work once, a dinner twice. At the end of this post, I will write down the directions for cooking a frozen lasagna.

Who doesn't like a thick piece of lasagna? Not a soul.

This lasagna is a recipe that I am surprised I have never posted. I have been making this since I was a newlywed. And it's in the Peterson Family Cookbook that my mom gives to the new brides in our family. This lasagna is a classic lasagna. Provolone and mozzarella, sausage, tomato sauce with bacon and then ricotta cheese. It requires a little extra time with making the sauce, but it can be made a day ahead, which is what I did. Whenever I make this, I always forget to double up on the pasta. I always like more pasta in it than normal, yet I always forget to add more. Do what you will.



For the sauce:
1 onion, diced
1 lb bacon, diced
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp kosher salt
A few grinds black pepper
2 28 oz cans tomato sauce
1 cup water

In a large skillet over medium heat, add bacon and onion. Saute until bacon is crisp and onion is translucent. Add fennel, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well. Pour in tomato sauce and water. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours, until sauce is thick. Let sauce cool before layering with the lasagna.

For the fillings:
2 lbs bulk Italian sausage
1 pint ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp oregano
6 cups shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese blend
1 16 oz package lasagna sheets

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add sausage. Saute, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through. Pour sausage onto a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, parsley and oregano. Stir well and set aside.

Set oven to 350 degrees.

Ladle 1/3 of tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Add a layer of uncooked lasagna sheets. Carefully spread 1/3 of the ricotta cheese over the pasta. Evenly sprinkle 1/3 of the sausage over the ricotta. And then sprinkle 2 cups of the mozzarella and provolone cheese blend over the sausage. Repeat two times.

Cover with foil and bake lasagna for 1 1/2 hours. In the last 20 minutes of baking, remove the foil, so the cheese can brown.

Yields 12 servings.

Rookie's Notes: If you are cooking this from the freezer, let it sit out for an hour before baking time. And then bake it for 2 hours.

On a completely different note- HOW 'BOUT THAT "LOST" FINALE!?! We just loved it. I couldn't be more content with how they tied it all up in a pretty little package. Who is my favorite character? Desmond. I have loved him from the beginning. And he was a shining star in the finale.


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Rosemary Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

Yet another post-partum freezer meal, and a good one at that. With how easy it is to throw a good meal into the oven from the freezer, I am going to make more of these and just keep them in the freezer for whenever. Putting these meals together is a cinch and is worth the time.



1 lb new potatoes, quartered
2 carrots, peeled and cut into strips
2 small zucchini, cut into strips
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp whole-grain mustard
2 sprig rosemary, leaves stripped off the stem
Kosher salt and ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 1 qt resealable plastic freezer bags

Add potatoes, carrots and zucchini in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil, mustard, rosemary, 1/2 tsp salt and a few grinds ground pepper.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper on each side. Divide everything among 4 bags. Freeze, until ready to cook, for up to 3 months.

When it comes time to cook it:
Heat oven to 400° F.

Remove the bags from the freezer (you'll need 1 bag for each serving). Empty the contents of the bags into a baking dish. Roast for 25 minutes. Toss the vegetables, turn the chicken, and continue roasting until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes more.

Divide among individual plates.

Yields 4 servings.

BRCC Burritos

There are a few fast food exceptions I will make. McDonald’s ice cream cones, McDonald’s Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken and El Pollo Loco’s Black Bean BRC. (Amelia, I know you are with me on that one.) The black beans at El Pollo Loco are loco. They didn’t have them for a long time after Hurricane Katrina because that was where their primary bean crops came from. But they came back, like an old friend.

Here is my BRC, but no delish black beans. But I do have delish pintos with ancho chiles, Mexican rice, grated cheddar cheese and chicken breast seasoned with a homemade Mexican seasoning blend.

This was in my arsenal of meals to make after I had Van. It was easy and I did more of the work ahead of time.

Pintos with Ancho Chiles
2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed
2 cups boiling water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 15 oz cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Place chiles in bowl. Pour 2 cups boiling water over. Let soak until chiles are soft, about 20 minutes. Strain, reserving 1/2 cup soaking liquid. Seed chiles; place in processor. Add onion, garlic, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup soaking liquid; puree.

Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add chile puree; stir until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Add beans, broth, bay leaves, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf.

Mexican Rice
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.

Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Mexican Seasoned Chicken Breast
1 tsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1½ tsp Mexican Seasoning Blend (recipe follows)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and sprinkle Mexican Seasoning Blend over the top. Saute until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Mexican Seasoning Blend
1/4 cup dried oregano
3Tbsp dried chile powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground cinnamon

Mix all seasonings together. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Once you have made everything- don’t forget about the tortillas and grated cheddar cheese!

Rookie’s Notes: Here is the best part: this was all in my freezer. We had the beans, rice and tortillas left over from a month ago. All I had to do was make the chicken, which was super easy. So if you do make the beans and rice, be advised that it makes a lot. But you will have enough to freeze the leftovers for another meal.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Thyme

Today Ethan is working an event. It’s only 45 people, so it is pretty easy. The event is off-premise and that means he has to load all of his equipment into a trailer. And that means Jack wants to help. He loves to help Ethan load up a trailer. He actually isn’t all that helpful because he will grab anything out of the storage room and put it in the trailer. A few wrinkled cocktail napkins? Check. One butter knife? Check. A leftover party favor from last week’s wedding? Check. Ethan might not need any of those, but just in case he needs the white chocolate daisy sucker from “Jonathan and Julie’s” nuptials, he is good to go.

Since Jack wanted to help his daddy, that meant I had to take him out of our house. Yep, I took two children out for the first time. It actually wasn’t that bad. But it was tiring. Good thing I have a bunch of post-partum freezer meals…



1 lemon, sliced into rounds
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
8 sprigs thyme
1 Tbsp capers
4 chicken thighs
4 chicken drumsticks
Kosher salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 1 qt resealable plastic freezer bags

In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes and their liquid, lemon, thyme, and capers. Divide them among the 4 plastic freezer bags.

Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add 1 leg and 1 thigh to each bag. Freeze, for up to 3 months, until ready to cook.

When it comes time to cook it:
Set oven to 400 degree.

Remove the bags of chicken and tomatoes from the freezer (you'll need 1 bag of chicken and tomatoes for each serving). Empty the contents of each bag into a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil.

Roast until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 50 minutes.

Yields 4 servings.

Rookie's Notes: When it comes time to cook, the chicken is supposed to go in frozen. It comes out perfect, so don't worry about it drying out. If you want to make this fresh and not frozen, I would guess the timing wouldn't be that different. Just keep an eye on it and check the temperature. It should register at 165 degrees.

Teriyaki Meatballs with Rice

Holy cow, I have two kids now. So far, it hasn't been too terrible. Jack has his moments, but for the most part, he is good. Van is fantastic. Eat, sleep, mess. Jack was a difficult infant, so Ethan and I are really enjoying Van's temperament. But at the same time, I am so scared that one day we will wake up and he will start being a rotten baby. I sure hope not.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I have quite the supply of post-partum freezer meals. For the most part, that is what I will be posting. I chose all the meals by their mild ingredients (to keep breastfeeding pleasant) and their ease of preparation. Hopefully you might get a tip or two, whether it is for post-partum rescue or for a regular week night dinner.



1 12 oz bag frozen meatballs, made with either ground pork or beef (16-20 meatballs)
1 12 oz bottle teriyaki marinade
1 8 oz can pineapple chunks in juice
1 small green bell pepper, diced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 cups white rice, cooked according to package directions
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat the meatballs in the microwave until warm through. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine teriyaki marinade, pineapple chunks and juice, bell pepper, and carrots. Add meatballs. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Serve meatballs with some sauce over white rice and garnished with green onions.

Yields 4 servings.

Rookie's Notes: The early prep on this was chopping the carrots and bell peppers and freezing them. In the pantry was the rice, sauce and pineapple. And I just happened to have the green onions in my fridge. Super easy meal and totally a favorite of Jack's.

Sourdough Pizzas

This culinary confection is very popular at our house right now. I can put this together in minutes, all because of my freezer. I keep fresh shredded mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, sourdough bread and pizza sauce in my freezer all the time. I just have to remember to pull the sauce out so it has a chance to defrost for a few hours. Other than that, zero prep involved. And this is a great post-partum meal. When you have a new baby in the house and bigger mouths to feed, this will satisfy everyone. Even a non-cooking husband could make these. And when you use foil, you just ball it up and toss it when you are done.

Top: pepperoni, green bell peppers, olives and fresh garlic.
Middle: artichoke hearts, olives and roasted red bell peppers.

Bottom: Pepperoni, green bell peppers and onions.

Slices of sourdough bread
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Pepperoni
Whatever other toppings you want!

Set oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Spread sauce on slices of bread and cover in cheese. Add pepperoni and other toppings. Put in the oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. YUM!

Rookie's Notes: If you are going to add fresh basil to your pizza, be sure to add it after you cook the pizzas. Otherwise, it will turn black and not look pretty. Basil can and should be eaten raw.