Easy Spaghetti Sauce

1 6oz can tomato paste
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 14oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions
Combine paste, sauce and tomatoes in a saucepan. Add spices and bring to a simmer.

Hummus

1 can (15.5-19 oz) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup tahini
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt

Place the beans, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the water, and salt in a blender.  Process until smooth.  Add more water, if needed, until the hummus reaches the desired consistency.

Tapenade

Alex hates olives, but he loved this tapenade (olive spread) on his Mediterranean Pizza Wrap (recipe will be posted).  Serve it on the wraps, or use as a Sandwich spread, or as a pasta sauce (lightly, like a pesto sauce.)  Anyway you serve it, it tastes great! 

Tapenade
2 cups Nicoise olives, pitted (I couldn't find these so I used 1 cup black and 1 cup green olives.  Tasted great)
2 tsp capers, rinsed and drained
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine the olives, capers, and garlic in a blender.  Pulse until coarsely chopped.  Combine the oil and lemon juice in a measuring cup.  With the machine running, add the oil mixture through the feed tube to blend into a rough paste.  Add the pepper and pulse to combine.

Transfer to an airtight container.  Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Pizza Sauce

Here is the sauce that I used at the reunion.

1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 Tbsp basil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp paprika

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Will top approximately 4 pizzas.

Rich Hot Fudge Sauce

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 squares (1 oz each)unsweetened chocolate
4-5 tsp vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan, combine cream and butter. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add the sugars and salt; cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes. (Don't let mixture boil too hard. Lower/raise heat as needed to maintain a low boil/simmer.) Stir in the cocoa and corn syrup; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until cocoa is blended.

Add chocolate; cook and stir 3-4 minutes longer or until chocolate is melted. Reduce heat to medium-low (just enough to maintain a simmer.) Simmer for 12-16 minutes or until desired thickness is reached, stirring constantly. (I like it thick and sticky, so I boil it longer than that. I used a small cup of ice cream to test the fudge on. Remember it will thicken as it cools.) Remove from the heat; stir in extracts. Cool slightly. Serve warm over ice cream. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: about 3 1/2 cups.

Spicy Turkey Injection and Basting Sauces

I forgot to take a picture of the turkey out of the oven. Too bad because it was beautiful; and tasted great to boot.



1 syringe for injection sauce

Injection Sauce:
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp carlic juice or garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
6 Tbsp lemon juice

Basting Sauce:1/2 cup butter
1/2 garlic clove
2 tsp all-purpose flour
1/3 cup water
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce

Combine injection sauce ingredients; fill syringe and inject into all meaty portions of turkey until skin is tight. (Inject slowly, withdrawing needle gradually to allow maximum juice retention.) Cover turkey loosely; refrigerate for several hours or overnight until time to cook the turkey.

While turkey cooks, prepare the basting sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add garlic; cook and stir for several minutes. Stir in four; cook until bubbly. Remove from heat; add the remaining ingredients. Return to heat; cook until the mixture thickens and boils. Brush on the turkey about 15 minutes before it is done.

Mom's Fresh Cranberry Sauce

1 package (2 cups) cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 orange rind grated (or 1/4 cup OJ concentrate)

Place all ingredients in a power mixer (kitchen aid, etc.) and mix on low speed for 15 minutes. Let stand 30 minutes, and then mix on low for another 10 minutes. (Keeps up to a year in the fridge.

FYI: I guess our store sells larger bags of cranberries, but when I made this I did 2 cups, which was only half a bag of cranberries. The sauce was so sugary that you could still feel the granules (they didn't completely dissolve.) I would suggest using more cranberries, or less sugar. We also found that heating the sauce in the microwave helped to dissolve the sugar.