Veal with Vodka Sauce

Now that activities are starting to creep back into our calendar and school is back in "session" I like to turn to my tried and true weeknight recipe stash to get dinner on the table quickly and with little effort. Thought I'd share one of our all-time family favorite weeknight recipes- veal with vodka sauce.  This recipe comes together in no time and only has a few staple ingredients that we typically  have on hand which is helpful when you find yourself without a dinner plan or if things just don't go as planned in general (am I right?!). The bonus is that everyone in my house can now make this meal independently which is a mom WIN!! 

Total Cook Time: 30 minutes

You will need:

1.5 lbs ground veal*
3-4 large handfuls of baby spinach

1 lb pasta of your choice 

1 jar of vodka sauce (I prefer Newman's Own brand)

1-2 cloves of garlic chopped fine

Olive oil

grated Parmesan cheese ( I prefer Parmigiano Reggiano)

First get a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Then add a liberal amount of olive oil over medium heat in a high-sided skillet. Once the pan is hot add in the garlic and stir around until fragrant. When it just starts to brown, add in the ground veal and cook to let the meat brown and caramelize, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

When the veal is cooked through, throw in the baby spinach and stir around to let it wilt. Then add in 3/4 the jar of vodka sauce. Turn the heat down to low, cover and let simmer until your pasta is cooked.

  

Once the pasta is cooked through place in bowl and top with veal mixture. Grate some Parmesan cheese on top and enjoy! 

**Want to switch it up?!!**

- substitute ground chicken or turkey for the veal 

- substitute your choice of tomato sauce for the vodka sauce 

- omit the baby spinach and use mushrooms instead!

Buon appetito!

Garden Fresh Roasted Tomato Sauce

I really can't believe summer is over! This year has both dragged on and flown by at the same time. I am holding on to the last shreds of the simplicity of summer with this dish. There's nothing better than the smell of a homemade sauce. This version uses a different cooking method than the traditional sauce that simmers on the stove all day. By roasting the ingredients it takes on a lighter but rich flavor and texture and comes together in no time, in fact most of the cooking time is hands off. Of course this is a fabulous way to use up the end of summer garden tomato bounty but store bought tomatoes would work here too! I prefer Roma tomatoes for this recipe because they hold up to the cooking method and give a great texture but you can use really any kind you have on hand.  I like to let the sauce shine here and simply serve it over spaghetti but you could substitute this sauce in any recipe. I bet it would make an awesome zucchini parm!

Chef's Note: I recommend an immersion blender for this recipe. They are relatively inexpensive and can be used for LOTS of recipes! It's one of my favorite kitchen gadgets... If you don't have one then you can use a high speed blender instead. 

Total Cook Time: 1 hr 15  minutes

You will need:

*6-8 tomatoes

*1 large sweet yellow onion

3-4 cloves of garlic

olive oil

coarse salt

italian seasoning

basil

**This is really more of a method rather than a recipe in that you can use as many or as few tomatoes as you like. Obviously the more you use the more sauce you have!

First get the tomatoes halved and chop up your onions in chunks. Finely dice garlic.

 Next squeeze the seeds and juices out into a sieve over a bowl. You will want to keep the juice but nobody wants seeds in their sauce!

Dump the tomatoes, garlic and onions into a shallow casserole dish.  You now want to season them!  I personally love this Italian seasoning blend from  Penzeys but if you don't have a blend you can use some dried basil, oregano, garlic salt and onion powder to taste. Sprinkle over the dish and then liberally salt and give a few glugs of olive oil over the top.  Lastly pour in the reserved tomato juice. 

Toss all by hand an arrange as a single layer (as best you can).  . .

Pop in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.. When it comes out of the oven it already looks and smells delicious!  But now it's time to turn these tomatoes into sauce... Transfer to a sauce pan and let sit for 10-15 minutes to cool slightly as you boil water for pasta.  

Then using an immersion blender you want to gently blend the ingredients together to your desired texture/consistency aka how "chunky" you like your sauce.  You can now add some torn basil if you wish for extra flavor. 

Time to enjoy the fruits of you labor by dishing the sauce up over your favorite pasta and digging right in!                                                

PS... Got more tomatoes? Make another batch and freeze in a gallon ziplok to channel summer any time of the year!!