Garden Marinara Sauce

This sauce is perfect in late summer when there are too many tomatoes around! It will freeze well, and it's great for people who believe there can never be too much garlic in the marinara. I made it with a mixture of red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, but any fresh, ripe tomatoes can be used.

Get the recipe, nutrition information and photos at Cook and Count!

Hoisin-Molasses Barbecue Sauce

HOISIN-MOLASSES BARBECUE SAUCE
3 tbl sugar
1 tbl molasses
3 tbl hoisin sauce
1 tbl rice vinegar
1 tbl soy sauce
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp mustard (original recipe called for Chinese mustard but I didn't have that so I used Koszkiusko)

Mix well and use on roasted or grilled meats.

Source: Cooking Light March 2008

Sesame Garlic Stir-Fry Sauce

Why use the bottled stuff when you can MAKE YOUR OWN?

My father-in-law bought a bottle of sesame garlic stir-fry sauce at a supermarket so he could make this recipe. It was really good but some would have preferred less spice. I looked at the ingredient list on the sauce bottle and figured it wouldn't be too hard to make at home.

Did you know that manufacturers must list ingredients in order of quantity? The first ingredients on the list are the major ingredients in a food. Keeping that in mind, here's how I wound up making the sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbl EACH water and cornstarch (dissolve the cornstarch in water before adding to sauce)
1 tbl sesame seed
1 tsp garlic powder or minced garlic
1/4 tsp fresh-ground pepper blend
1/4 tsp ground ginger (not in the sauce but we like ginger in our stir-fry)

Stir to mix, and microwave for 1 minute before adding to the pan. Cook until sauce thickens a little.

Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

Makes about 4 dozen meatballs and plenty of sauce!! I like to make this in a big batch. I freeze it in "meal size" containers (enough meatballs for one meal plus about 2 cups of sauce in each container).

Get the recipe with photos and nutrition facts at Cook and Count.