Friday, August 13, 2010

Simple, Easy and Freezer Ready Pizza Sauce

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 tbl balsamic
1/2 tsp dried basil
pinch of oregano
salt and pepper

Saute the onions over medium heat until transparent, add the garlic and dried herbs and saute until fragrant, ~30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and vinegar and let simmer over low heat for a half hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Freeze in ice cube trays and store in a zipper bag in the freezer.

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Normally when I make a pizza with tomato sauce (which is pretty rare these days, heh), I make a whole batch of sauce and then have a bunch of leftovers. But I had the idea to make some and freeze it in an ice cube tray for easy portioning, so I decided to act on it. See, this way if I want to make a pizza all I have to do is pull out a cube or two, defrost it and there it is. No need for making a whole pot of sauce just for one pizza and then having to figure out what to do with the rest. Plus this gives me the ability to add a little tomato flavor to all kinds of things, like stews or rice, all I have to do is toss in a cube.

Some of you might look at that sauce and think it's pretty spartan. And it is really, although it's lovely without any changes. But I wanted it to be more a base than anything else. Want more flavor for whatever you're doing? Add a pinch or two of fresh herbs to the cubes while they defrost and you can customize it to whatever you're making. Add some more basil and oregano for an Italian taste, some cumin and coriander for a Middle Eastern kind of thing, chili powder and cumin would Mexicanize it, you get the picture. The idea is freezing the sauce like this gives you a lot a of options to experiment without forcing you to use an entire can of tomatoes. I've shared the method, now go forth and saucify!

16 comments:

Jeannie said...

A great idea! The sauce sounds very flavorful too!

Pretty Zesty said...

Brava! This is a great idea!!

Joanne said...

I usually put pesto into ice cube trays and never thought to do it with tomato sauce. Great idea!

Rocquie said...

Your sauce sounds really good and freezing in portions is a great idea.

Me and My Pink Mixer said...

What a great idea ~ I am definitely doing this! Thanks for the recipe too :)

Jenn said...

Ha! That's a really neat trick. I'm sooo going to make a batch of tomato sauce now just so I can do this. Thanks for the tip!!

Karen said...

Great idea for when you need small amounts of sauce! This is the first time in a lot of tries that I've been able to get onto your blog without a virus warning coming up. Glad I made it! :)

La Bella Cooks said...

Nothing beats making life easier. Great idea with the ice cube trays.

Hungry Dog said...

What a great idea! very clever (and practical!)

Jenni said...

I use the ice cube tray trick with fresh herbs as well...I am not a huge fan of cilantro but when I do buy a bunch, I use what I need and freeze the rest in the trays with water. Pop 'em in soups later! P.S. "Mexicanize" made me lol

Arnold said...

What a great idea. This could be a real time saver. Thanks.

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

I make lots of pizza these days... what a terrific idea!

Kathleen said...

I love ideas like this. Great Bob!
Thanks
Kathleen

Catherine said...

What an interesting and fantastic idea Bob!
I'll have to try this next time!
Cheers~

Reeni said...

Good idea! If only my freezer weren't stuffed to the hilt!

Shine said...

That is a BRILLIANT idea. I always have just the amount of sauce left over that isn't really enough for anything but that I don't want to throw out either. The cubes would be perfect for So many things. Thanks for sharing such a practical suggestion. (P.S. Love your site...and the cats!)

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