tomato sauce – Page 2 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

8-12: Beef Stroganoff

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses August 4, 2016July 2, 2020beef, black pepper, butter, chopped, creamy, Dijon mustard, dinner, fairly easy, fairly expensive, gluten-free, ground beef, ground meat, ground turkey, herbs and spices, lunch, melted, mushrooms, paprika, parsley, rice, Russian, salt, sautéed, simmered, sirloin, sliced, sour cream, stroganoff, tomato paste, tomato sauce, untested, vegetables, vodka, whipping cream, yellow onions

Stroganoff was a VERY common dish in my house when I was growing up. Since this was the 90s (low-fat everything), it was usually made with plain ground turkey, powdered mix from a packet, and some light sour cream (which is essentially tasteless mush–real sour cream was a revelation when I got older). It got to the point where I couldn’t even stand the smell of stroganoff because my mom made this dish so often.

Time has passed, and stroganoff & I have had a reconciliation. I make it about once every other month now for work, but from scratch and not with packet mix (but still using ground turkey since it’s leaner). Simply Delicious has two stroganoff recipes: 13-6: Mushroom Stroganoff (a vegetarian version) and this one, 8-12: Beef Stroganoff. I made both at the same time, as part of a stroganoff-off.

Beef stroganoff is a pretty well known dish, and it’s not surprising that it’d be included in a book like this with so many other “classic” dishes. Let’s see how far Simply Delicious strays from the norm–who knows…they might surprise us.

9-2: Mexican Fiesta

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses July 21, 2016July 5, 2020appetizers, black olives, broiled, canola oil, casserole, cheese, chili powder, chopped, dinner, dips, easy, egg-free, garlic, ground beef, ground meat, guacamole, inexpensive, lunch, melted, Mexican, minced, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, nachos, party food, Pepper Jack, pimento, pinto beans, sautéed, side dish, snacks, sour cream, tacos, Tex-Mex, tomato sauce, tortilla chips, untested, yellow onions

9-2: Mexican Fiesta sounds exciting, but it’s really just poorly layered nachos. I know that they were trying to make it seem like a casserole, but all the good stuff that goes in tacos/nachos is basically layered in a pan and covered with a layer of chips on top. I think you’re supposed to eat it like a dip? 🌮

I like the touch of the Corona with a lime in the background of their picture, like all of a sudden that makes it a party. I can’t think of too many decent Mexican places that would serve something like this, but if you want something festive yet inoffensive for a party or a lengthy Netflix session, I suppose this recipe could get the job done. 🌶

13-11: Vegetarian Pizza

Adam Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses June 11, 2016October 28, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, canola oil, cheese, cottage cheese, dinner, dough, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, garlic, grated, green onions, herb salt, herbs and spices, Italian, Italian seasoning, kneaded, leeks, lunch, melted, minced, mushrooms, olive oil, Parmesan, party food, pizza, proofed, salt, sautéed, soy sauce, Swiss, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yeast

Just like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I appreciate a good slice of pizza. 🍕 I wouldn’t normally order a vegetarian pizza. Does the Meat Lovers’ special come with 4 or 5 different meats on it?

I haven’t made pizza dough before. I briefly made bread when we scored a bread machine from a thrift store. After using the bread machine 2 or 3 times, I got to see why all of those bread machines are abandoned at the thrift store. Either my process was not good or the machine stopped working correctly after about 2 loaves of bread.

9-10: Lean Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses May 13, 2016July 5, 2020appetizers, basil, black pepper, boiled, bread crumbs, canola oil, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, diced, dinner, dried herbs, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, garlic, ground meat, ground turkey, herbs and spices, Italian seasoning, lunch, meatballs, minced, olive oil, panko, parsley, party food, salt, sautéed, tomato sauce, untested, veal, white bread, white pepper, yellow onions

Here’s another one of those 1980s attempts at “healthy”. 9-10: Lean Meatballs with Tomato Sauce calls for the use of veal, which doesn’t immediately resonate with me as being “healthy”. A quick and dirty Google search comes up with veal having less calories than pork but more cholesterol than beef. Calories were the enemy in the 1980s, so I suppose that’s part of their justification for deeming veal meatballs “healthy”.

I’m not a huge fan of veal, and considering there’s a whole lamb & veal section to this book that I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of, we’re going to keep these meatballs “healthy” and swap veal for turkey. My mom was (and still is) a huge proponent of ground turkey, so this is probably a swap she or I would have made if we’d made this before.

7-55: Sunday Pork Stew

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses September 16, 2015June 19, 2020almonds, boiled, boneless, braised, butter, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, cubed, deglazed, dinner, easy, garlic, inexpensive, lunch, melted, minced, paprika, pearl onions, peeled, pork, pork shoulder, purée, stewed tomatoes, stews, Sunday, toasted, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetable bouillon, white wine, yellow onions

7-55: Sunday Pork Stew was part of a recent 3-recipes-at-1-time attempt, which also included 4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter and 4-4: Scalloped Parsley Potatoes.

I had originally intended to make a different pork recipe, but when faced with an unexpected ingredient shortage (someone used my mushrooms), I rolled with it and dug out another pork recipe for which I had ingredients on hand. This would have been better with pasta or rice, as suggested on the card, but dinner is dinner when you’re hungry.

4-30: Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 13, 2014April 14, 2022appetizers, black pepper, boiled, bread crumbs, breaded, canola oil, cheese, chicken fat, crispy, deep fryer, deep-fried, dinner, egg whites, egg yolks, eggs, fail, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fried, hors d'oeuvres, Italian, lunch, mashed potatoes, Mozzarella, pan-fried, panko, Parmesan, potatoes, rendered, side dish, snacks, sticks, string cheese, stuffed, tomato sauce, untested, vegetarian

This one…was challenging. And it seemed so simple! 4-30: Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes are essentially mozzarella sticks with a mashed potato/panko coating. These turned from a quick snack into a multi-day attempt.

Now, before I scare you off this recipe: it was 100% my fault it went south. I tried to improvise in several places, and it proved to be my downfall each time. Sometimes you can take liberties, and sometimes you can’t.

Here’s how you learn those lessons.

7-50: Parma Schnitzel

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses October 7, 2014June 19, 2020all-purpose flour, basil, black pepper, bread crumbs, breaded, butter, coated, crushed tomatoes, dinner, dredged, dried herbs, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, fried, ham, Italian, lunch, oregano, pan-fried, paprika, Parmesan, pork, pork loin, pork shoulder, reduced, salt, schnitzel, tenderized, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, white bread, yellow onions

Schnitzel has been a favorite of mine ever since I went on a trip with my family to Israel when I was 13 (I chose that instead of the party–I never say no to a chance to travel, especially abroad). Obviously, they didn’t serve a lot of pork schnitzel there, but 7-50: Parma Schnitzel is a good version all the same.

This is a quasi-Italian-style schnitzel, which according to Wikipedia, is one of the few countries that schnitzel is not a cuisine of. Well, this one’s good anyway.

13-10: Zucchini Piccata

Jamie Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses October 4, 2014July 30, 2020appetizers, basil, black olives, black pepper, boiled, bread crumbs, breaded, capers, coated, crispy, crushed tomatoes, deep fryer, deep-fried, dinner, dredged, dried herbs, easy, eggs, inexpensive, Italian, lunch, olive oil, pan-fried, Parmesan, piccata, red onions, reduced, salt, side dish, simmered, snacks, summer, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, zucchini

If you still have any zucchini or tomatoes lying around from a late summer harvest, this is a great vegetarian recipe with which to use those up. 🍅

Also note the new background: my first entry from my new (hopefully somewhat permanent) kitchen. 🙂

I styled mine in more of a fried zucchini-appetizer way, but the casserole way works too.

12-1: Lasagna

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses October 3, 2014July 27, 2020all-purpose flour, basil, Béchamel sauce, beef bouillon, black pepper, butter, cheese sauce, creamy, crushed tomatoes, dinner, dried herbs, fairly easy, garlic, ground beef, ground meat, ground turkey, inexpensive, Italian, lasagna, lunch, meat sauce, melted, milk, minced, Mozzarella, nutmeg, pasta/noodles, roux, salt, sausage, sautéed, simmered, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, yellow onions

You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t had lasagna before. It’s not very difficult to make, but often very time-consuming. The first entry in the Pasta & Rice section is the old standby: 12-1: Lasagna.

This version is different than what I’m used to making: it uses a cheese sauce (similar to a béchamel) in place of a ricotta/egg mixture. It was good, but I think I’d choose the ricotta/egg mixture in terms of what I think of when I think of “lasagna”.