Philly: Simple Homemade Tomato Sauce

I have wanted to try this recipe for some time now ever since I saw in on And Her Little Do Too. I "attempted" it back in July but it didn't turn out right because for once, I should have followed the recipe exactly. Meaning, instead of using what I thought were the all superior fresh tomatoes, I should have used the canned ones instead. So this time I did.

If ever there was a simpler recipe, here it is. Plus this couldn't be cheaper. The sauce takes only THREE ingredients and along with the pasta and optional parmesan, you've got a 5 ingredients or less dinner, which usually I don't fare well with. I like my ingredients, but this changed my mind.

1.68 for canned tomatoes

$65 cents for half a box of Rotini

Maybe 25 cents for parmesan

50 cents for an onion

and maybe 70 cents for a half stick of butter

and you've got $3.78 for at least three adult servings, that's a steal of a meal! This will definitely become a staple in my college cookbook!

It doesn't make too much sauce so if you want more, definitely double this recipe.

And now for your faith in me to continue...try this sauce and try not to add anything like I usually do, it's worth the control!

Simple Homemade Tomato Sauce: 2 servings

(Recipe from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

28 oz. can of Peeled Plum Tomatoes

One Medium White Onion

5-6 oz. of Salted Butter

Salt to Taste

Directions:

Remove skin of the onion and cut in half.

Add butter and onion to a heavy 3 quart sauce pan.

Pour the entire can of tomatoes into the sauce pan.

Over medium heat bring mixture to a boil. Stir.

Once boiling, turn heat to low and allow the sauce to simmer (not boil) with lid on for 45 minutes.

Make sure you stir frequently with a wooden spoon so the sauce does not burn on the bottom of the pan or spill over. As you stir, crush the tomatoes on the side of the pan.

Sauce is ready once it is noticeably thick and butter “bubbles” appear on top.

Take off heat and scoop out the onion and throw away.

Salt to taste (you won't need to) and serve on your favorite pasta with parmesan (only if you want it, this sauce is very flavorful.)

I managed to throw away most of the onion but little pieces remain, that’s fine, but don’t keep too much of it in the sauce.

Beware of burning depending on the type of pan you use. You don’t want to waste any of this!

I couldn’t believe how good this sauce was especially since it was so simple. I hope you have the same luck as I did for once by following the recipe!

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

Philly: Potato and Vegetable Bake

Happy Daylight Savings Time! Hope you took the extra hour to sleep in! I know I did.

I love comfort food because it is so hearty and filling. Unfortunately, it can often be incredibly fattening such as fried chicken or macaroni and cheese. But when it is deliciously crispy, baked vegetables you can get the best of both worlds: comfort and a smaller butt.

On the night I made this meal I was unsure exactly what I was hungry for and after a “mental-scan” of the pantry I was able to come up with something good.

I was so excited that the 5lb. bags of potatoes at the grocery store were buy-one-get-one-free this week! That’s what makes me happy. And finally I finished the bag of sweet potatoes we have had for what seems like forever.

This recipe is by no means difficult or even terribly creative, but man is it good. There is nothing better than crispy oven baked potatoes and with carrots, sweet potatoes, and zucchini. You can also use any type of root vegetable or squash that you have for this recipe. Be creative!

I paired this with grilled chicken breasts but this is definitely a full vegetarian meal without it. This would also be a great dish for a roast chicken or even Thanksgiving.

Potato and Vegetable Bake: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 large white potatoes

2-3 small sweet potatoes

2-3 large carrots

2 zucchinis

1 Onion soup packet (low sodium is good too)

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Wash, peel and chop all the vegetables (chop carrots into smaller pieces than the rest and do not peel all of skin off the zucchini.)

Arrange chopped vegetables in a large baking dish.

In a separate bowl mix soup mix, oil, and pepper together.

Pour oil mixture over the vegetables and mix the vegetables so they are coated evenly.

Place baking dish in the oven for about 45 minutes-1 hour or until vegetables are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Serve with a roast chicken (or if you are a poor college student like me, a grilled chicken breast) or with a salad for a vegetarian meal.

Note: These leftover vegetables would be perfect to make for breakfast in a frittata or even mixed together with scrambled eggs. Just warm up the leftovers beforehand.  

For the special occassion I hope you enjoy my "Time" Playlist:

Take Your Time- Al Green and Corinne Bailey Rae

Time- Ben Folds (Check out the a cappella version by the Princeton Nassons)

Anytime at All- The Beatles

For the Longest Time- Billy Joel

By the Time- Imogen Heap and Mika

Wasting Time- Jack Johnson

She Has No Time- Keane

This Time is the Last Time- Mae

Sometimes- Nine Days

Time After Time- Cyndi Lauper

This playlist could go on forever since my iTunes pulled up over 300 songs with “time” in them.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

What is your favorite way to cook a medley of vegetables? Have you even tried it for breakfast?

Philly: You Know You are in College When...

Today I began to think about my situation as a college student and the things that has happened to me recently that make me think about my financial situation and the phrase "you know you're a college student when"...

One of your colleagues buys you groceries because she feels bad that you live on about $14 a day.

You live on $14 a day.

You wear the same pair of stockings which have giant holes in both toes until you toes go through the holes because you cannot break down and buy a new pair.

You make a casserole with the intention of it feeding you for one dinner and 5-6 lunches.

You feel guilty buying bread because really, you don't "need" it.

You feel bad buying anything deemed frivolous such as yogurt, ice cream, meat, condiments, tissues, because really, you don't "need" it.

When your printer runs out of toner, instead of buying a new one, you rely on your library's 200 free prints a semester...for the next two years.

Even when you turn 21, you don't buy alcohol because really, you don't "need" it.

When meeting up with friends for a dinner out, you go to the on campus dining hall on oyur meal plan because you don't want to spend your "actual" money. (This was last year when I had the free-Resident Assistant meal plan.)

You consider what food you can live without in order to buy gas for your car.

You wait to drink coffee until you get to work because well, it's free.


You eat all of your meals at work because they have a microwave so you can bring your leftovers.


You've needed a new computer battery for a year now but they cost $70 so you don't.

You don't think about that while you are living on $14 a day you are not so slowly racking up thousands of dollars of debt in order to be in college and live on $14.

Philly: Baked Bowtie Pasta Casserole

Okay, I know you're saying, "wait, bowties, aren't you supposed to use ziti for something like this?"

And yes, you amy have a point. Ziti is a sturdier pasta that won't break as easily when mixing such as bowtie (or farfalle) might. But seeing that we had no ziti, and we did have farfalle, I was willing to take the risk.

Personally, I love bowtie pasta. It has a great shape and honestly how fun is it to eat them? Much more fun than boring ziti noodles. That's something we can all agree on.

I wanted to make a substansial baked dish that could be a meal on its own and make great leftovers for packed lunches.

I love sausage, and if you've tried it, you now know that turkey sausage is not a compromise for flavor, especially in things.

This time I used a different brand of Sweet Italian Turkey sausage, Jennie-O's in fact. I usually buy a different version which in my opinion has a stronger "sausage taste” and the skin doesn’t soften as well. Still, Jennie-O's stood up in a dish like this. Good job Jennie, I buy this again.

As for the baked dish, I was craving a baked ziti that my mom makes back home but of course, with a unique twist of my own. I definitely think adding sauteed spinach makes the dish more colorful and of course adds an extra vegatable.

Like most things I make, baked pasta dishes do not have to be fattening to be sastifying. With lowfat cheeses, ricotta, lowfat turkey sausage, spinach, etc. you've got a delicious meal you won't get sick off for leftovers and something you don't feel guilty about eating. So you can have your cheese, and eat it too.

For an extra treat, I made a quick bruschetta with cherry tomatoes to go with the loaf of Italian bread we picked up. Yum. Easy, fresh, and did I say yum?

But now back to the main course:

Baked Bowties: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb.  Farfalle Pasta

2-3 links of turkey sausage, chopped finely

1 ½ jars of your favorite Tomato Sauce

6 oz. of part-skim ricotta

½-3/4 cups of low fat mozzarella

½-3/4 cups of grated Parmesan

1 small-medium onion, chopped

1 egg

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

½ package of fresh Spinach

Pepper

Olive oil

Garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta for about 8 minutes.

Drain water and keep in pot with lid on to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large pan drizzle olive oil and begin to brown 1 clove of minced garlic and onion.

Add sausage and begin to brown.

Add spinach to the pan and sautéed together with garlic salt and pepper.

Once mixture is cooked, mix with noodles.

Mix in 1 jar of tomato sauce stir.

Mix in the egg and ricotta.

Mix in cheese and rest of fresh garlic. Add a little more pepper and garlic salt.

Evenly transfer mixture to a large casserole dish.

Cover with the ½ jar of sauce and bake for 30 minutes.

Once the top is lightly brown and mixture is bubbly, take out of oven.

Top with more parmesan cheese.

Serve with fresh Italian bread (and a salad if you have it.)

This dish is ultimate comfort food for a chilly November day.

Enjoy!

Love,

The College Cuisiner

Travel: New York City Girls' Trip

This weekend I had the wonderful pleasure of accompanying my two good friends from home, Lesley and Elle for Elle’s 7^th birthday trip. I met them on the train in Philly and we went up to Penn Station in the beginning of the one-day snow storm. Of course the one weekend we decide to go to New York a crazy-out-of-control snow storm decides to hit the east coast. Perfect.

But all said and done we braved the weather and made the best of it.

I apologize for the lack of pictures but I felt guilty taking pictures of the food in NYC.

We started off at the American Girl Doll Store so Elle could spend her birthday gift cards. Wow, that is a doll store to say the least.

 "Rebecca" was treated to a new hair style in the salon along with a wheel chair, crutches, and various accessories.

As Elle explains, her doll just seems to get in a bad string of accidents including a rock falling on her leg.

After a shopping spree at the AG store, as Elle calls it, we had lunch across the street at the Saks Fifth Avenue Café. I had a Portabella Mushroom and Gruyere Grilled Cheese with Manhattan Clam and Corn Chowder with Strawberry Iced tea. Elle also had an order of the soup and Lesley had the beautiful Saks’ Salad.

Finally we could check into our hotel so we went back to take a rest before the night festivities. WOW. Gorgeous and with Travelocity Secret Deals, Lesley definitely “got a deal.” Imagine, a New York City Hotel room that is actually the size of a normal hotel room! Amazing.

For dinner we ate at the Trattoria Dopo Teatro (“After the Theater”) in the Theater district.

I had a lovely plate of “Tagliatelle di castagne ai funghi e rosmarino” or Chestnut noodles with wild mushrooms and rosemary. It was delicious. Lesley had “Risotto di mare al pesto” Seafood Risotto with basil pesto. Elle went off menu with buttered pasta (I don’t think that was an issue.) Lesley and I split a delicious dessert but I have no idea what it was called.

After that we were off to the theater to see Wicked. I was so excited to see this show and couldn’t resist mouthing the words to “Defying Gravity.” The production was so well done and it didn’t feel long at all. Elle loved it and asked at the end if there was “a third half.” I wish there was.

 

And yes, this dragon had red glowing eyes and moved. Very appropriate for Halloween.

Exhausted we went back to the hotel and I about passed out. The next day, sunny, and a mild 45 degrees we spent the morning and afternoon walking around New York. It was the perfect weather for a long walk.

We finally got Elle her sugared almonds from a street vendor.

We watched the Rockefeller Center Ice rink take advantage of the early snow in order to pack down the rink.

We really did and a beautiful day for some people watching and window shopping.

To indulge Aaron’s suggestion we stopped by the Ralph Lauren Flagship store to “browse.” After that we made a long anticipated stop at Dylan’s Candy Bar for Elle and then walked less than a block to Serendipity3.

If you’ve ever seen the movie or heard anything about the restaurant you know this place is ridiculously famous especially for their “frozen Hot Chocolate.” The hype definitely follows the place since there was a line out the door. But after being seated in probably the worst table in the place we had a so-so lunch. My chicken salad sandwich was fine but definitely not worth $14.

The Frozen Hot chocolate was good, but seriously, you could make it just as good at home.

We spent a little more time browsing in the Giant H&M store and after a unfortunate loss of a lost American Girl accessory and a long search, we went back to “AG” before heading back to the train station.

We were all happily exhausted when we finally headed back. After all the hustle and bustle of the “big big” city I was happy to get back to my smaller city of Philadelphia. But we had such a good time and despite the bad weather on Saturday our trip couldn’t have been better.

Elle says that next year, we are seeing the Lion King. Sounds good to me! Thanks ladies for a great trip!

Love,

The College Cuisiner