Meat Sauce

I eat pasta regularly. It's quick, easy, and usually doesn't require a lot of ingredients. With that however, it gets boring, really boring. Pasta noodles with a jar of sauce gets really old after a while especially if its the same pasta and the rest of the pasta sauce from Costco that seems to have an endless supply inside. What better way to spice things up and have a quick weeknight meal like making a meat sauce to go over the pasta instead.

This was really simple and brought a whole new set of flavors. Next time I will add some veggies in to have a nice crunch and make it interesting :)

• 2/3 lb ground beef (or turkey or chicken)


• 1 jar tomato sauce


• 2 cloves garlic, chopped


• 1 1/2 tsp. each parsley, oregano


• 1/2 tsp kosher salt


• 1/2 tsp black pepper


• 3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese



• 1 bag pasta, cooked**

In a lightly oiled skillet, saute garlic about one minute. Add meat and cook until half-way done. Add spices, cheese, and tomato sauce. Simmer about 15 minutes. Pour over top of pasta and sprinkle cheese if desired.

** Gluten-free pasta is available from Trader Joes (its was I use for my mom)

New York Steak and a Cabarnet Balsamic Sauce

New York Steak was the big sale item at the grocery store this week. Usually going for about $11.99 a pound or so here ... it was on sale for under $4 a pound ... geez what a steal. I looked around for a few different sauces to make with it and most were cream-based or super cheesy. I knew I'd be opening a bottle of wine for dinner and figured why not incorporate that into the meal. Really easy to make and adds a lot of flavor to the meat - you cannot go wrong with wine :)

• 2 New York Steaks (obviously you can substitute for another cut you like)


• Kosher salt and Fresh black pepper


• 1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced


• 1/2 cup Cabernet Sauvignon


• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar


• 1 tablespoons brown sugar

Season meat with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. Let sit while you begin to make the sauce.

In a lightly-oiled medium sauce pan over medium heat, add garlic and cook until garlic begins to turn brown. Deglaze with wine and balsamic vinegar. Add sugar and let simmer and reduce for 20 to 30 minutes until mixture reduces to less than a 1/2 cup.

Grill steak according to your taste buds (rare to medium). I grilled mine about 4-5 minutes each side. Let rest about 5 minutes. Serve warm sauce over steaks.

Garlic Shrimp with Citrus Lime Dipping Sauce

I am pretty much crazy about shrimp. It’s one of my favorite foods yet it’s rare that I make it (I think I assume I will have to do much more work to make it a solid meal). After making this dish though I think I will put it on the menu much more often. I originally made this recipe as an appetizer, but it definitely could easily be paired with rice and a vegetable or even added to the top of a salad and there you have it -- a main course.

Shrimp:

• ½ lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined


• 1 clove of garlic, minced


• Small handful of cilantro, chopped


• Salt and black pepper


• Cayenne pepper to taste (I just sprinkle a little on the shrimp to give it some heat)


• Oil

Sauce:

• ½ cup orange juice


• 1 tbsp lemon juice


• 1 tbsp lime juice


• 1 tbsp corn starch mixed with ¼ cup chicken broth

In a skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds (you don’t want to burn the garlic). Add shrimp (seasoned with salt and peppers) and cilantro and cook until shrimp is pink. Remove from heat and set aside.


In a small saucepan, heat remaining ingredients on medium heat until just boiling. Lower heat and simmer about 5 minutes. This allows the sauce to thicken a bit. Serve in a dish beside shrimp.

Note: If you want to make this recipe as a main dish you will need to at least double it. You can also modify the sauce into more of a dressing if you add olive oil and leave out the cornstarch.

Adapted from a recipe by Robin Miller

BBQ Sauce

I have always wanted to make my own barbeque sauce but it was just easier to pick up a bottle at the store. I found this recipe by Paula Deen, one of my favorite chefs to watch because of her amazing personality, for a barbeque chicken but I think it can work for any meat you like.

• 3/4 cup finely diced onion


• 2 teaspoons minced garlic


• 2 tablespoons oil


• Salt and freshly ground black pepper


• 2 tablespoons brown sugar


• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper


• 1/2 cup ketchup


• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard


• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar *


• 2 tablespoons lemon juice


• 1/4 cup water


• Dash Worcestershire sauce

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the onion and garlic in vegetable oil until soft. Add salt and pepper. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes.

* Make sure the apple cider vinegar is gluten-free. To be sure, it is sold at speciality stores that state "Gluten-Free" on the label.