1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
A great idea! The sauce sounds very flavorful too!
Brava! This is a great idea!!
I usually put pesto into ice cube trays and never thought to do it with tomato sauce. Great idea!
Your sauce sounds really good and freezing in portions is a great idea.
What a great idea ~ I am definitely doing this! Thanks for the recipe too :)
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!!
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! :)
Nothing beats making life easier. Great idea with the ice cube trays.
What a great idea! very clever (and practical!)
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
What a great idea. This could be a real time saver. Thanks.
I make lots of pizza these days... what a terrific idea!
I love ideas like this. Great Bob!
Thanks
Kathleen
What an interesting and fantastic idea Bob!
I'll have to try this next time!
Cheers~
Good idea! If only my freezer weren't stuffed to the hilt!
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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