sauce Archives - Ari's Menu

Spicy Vegan Meatless Sauce

February 1, 2015 · by Ari ·

This spicy vegan meatless sauce is packed with flavor and protein, and is a great meat-free option to serve with your favorite pasta. Healthy, gluten-free and flavor-full!

By now we’ve talked in detail about my obsession with Italian food. Especially sauce. Pasta I can take or leave, but there must be a good, flavorful sauce.

I am an equal opportunity eater, so generally I just brown up some ground turkey for my meat sauce, but I am always looking for options for my vegetarian and vegan friends. When Gardein^TM reached out to me about creating a recipe, I was so excited to try something new. And the verdict? It was absolutely delicious. For vegetarians, and non-vegetarians alike!

I have to admit, I have never been great about doing my research about the impact the food we choose has our environment. Did you know that if every American ate meatless just once a week it would be equivalent to half a million cars being taken off the roads each year? That’s crazy to me! In addition, it takes approximately 2500 gallons of water to produce 1 lb of beef whereas it takes only 50 gallons of water for a plant-based meal–this is the equivalent water savings if you didn’t shower for 6 months! I know many people worry about getting protein when going meatless, but Gardein offers 12 grams of protein (hence the name: garden + protein!) for every 1/2 cup of their beefless ground for only 80 calories! Ummm, SCORE!

One taste of this sauce, and you’ll be all about this deliciously meat-free option!

Spicy Vegan Meatless Sauce

Recipe Type: Main

Author: Ari Ziskin

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4

This spicy vegan meatless sauce is packed with flavor and protein, and a great meat-free option to serve with your favorite pasta. Healthy, gluten-free and flavor-full!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fresh or dried basil
2 tsp crushed red pepper (more or less depending on desired spiciness)
generous pinch each salt and pepper
2 cups [url href=”http://gardein.com/products/gluten-free-beefless-ground/” target=”_blank”]Gardein Beefless Ground[/url]

Instructions

In a large pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until fragrant. Add crushed tomato and spices. When sauce starts to bubble, reduce heat to a simmer. Add the beefless ground and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Here is a great video on Gardein’s #MeetChef campaign!

For more info check out Gardein’s website or follow them on Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | YouTube | Instagram or check out the #MeetChef campaign for a $1 off coupon!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gardein . The opinions and text are all mine.

Orange Cranberry Sauce

November 4, 2013 · by Ari ·

Bright, citrusy and lightly sweet cranberry sauce. This will turn anyone into a cranberry sauce believer.

Up until last year, I was NOT a cranberry sauce believer. I would never touch the stuff, and I sure as heck wasn’t serving it up at my Thanksgiving table! Then I had this sandwich at one of my favorite lunch spots called the gobbler, and it changed my life. Real cranberry sauce. Not some gross, weird jelly from a can. It was amazing!

Last Thanksgiving I decided to put cranberry sauce on my table. I only made a small batch because no one in my family was ever a fan of it either. Well, let me tell you, we all went back for seconds, and I was so disappointed that there weren’t any leftovers! Leftover turkey with no cranberry sauce to put on top??? Total bummer.

I absolutely adore orange and cranberry together. The flavors complement each other perfectly. Confession: I can’t spell to save my life, but I have this weird nerdy obsession with compliment vs. complement. It’s like the one spelling thing I actually know how to do correctly, and I get this weird satisfaction out of getting it right. Just don’t ask me to spell melon…

Okay, so last year since I didn’t know anything about making my own cranberry sauce, I followed a very simple recipe from Table for Two with the intentions that I would make my own recipe the next time. Except it turns out that Julie’s recipe was perfect in every way, so I kept it the same. I add a tablespoon of bourbon to mine (at the same time I put everything together on the stovetop), but otherwise I follow her recipe exactly. I tried adding less sugar, but it was….not worth it. It’s not a ton of sugar. Add the full 3 tablespoons. Click over to Julie’s blog to get the recipe!

Fat Free Thousand Island Dressing

June 11, 2013 · by Ari ·

Does anyone actually eat thousand island on a salad? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I find it delicious, and I absolutely love it on sandwiches, burgers, and as a dipping sauce, but on a salad? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone eat it like that.

I told Hermano I made my own thousand island, and he told me I needed to recreate the big mac. I had totally forgotten that thing even exists, but I feel like now I have to tackle it. Especially since I’m apparently obsessed with burgers lately.

I used to get thousand island on my sandwiches all the time, but I kicked the habit to the curb when I started my weight loss journey. There aren’t a lot of options at the store if you want a healthier version, and most of them are filled with ingredients I don’t want to go anywhere near, so I figured I’d try my hand at my own version.

You guys…making your own salad dressing (or sandwich dressing, or dipping sauce) is SO EASY. Seriously. There is no reason to buy this stuff. It only requires a handful of ingredients, and about 5 minutes of your time.

Nonfat plain Greek yogurt is the secret to making it thick and creamy without any fat. From there, I just added a little bit of reduced sugar ketchup (available at most grocery stores), some sweet relish, honey for added sweetness, vinegar, and some seasonings. Aside from the relish, I had all of the ingredients in my house already! And with hardly any added time, I had a delicious sandwich with sweet and creamy thousand island in minutes *hint hint*.

Fat Free Thousand Island Dressing

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 3/4 cup

Serving Size: 2 tbsp

Fat Free Thousand Island Dressing

Ingredients

1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp reduced sugar ketchup
1 tbsp white vinegar
1-2 tsp honey (depending on desired sweetness)
2 tsp sweet pickle relish1 teaspoon white onion, finely minced
pinch onion powder
dash each salt and pepper

Instructions

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for 7-10 days. Serve completely chilled.

https://arismenu.com/fat-free-thousand-island-dressing/

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

April 3, 2013 · by Ari ·

For years, I have been buying enchilada sauce. Always green, although for years I was totally weirded out by green sauce. It was green, so obviously it was gross. Like vegetables, ew. Except now I am totally obsessed with almost all vegetables, and if offered the chance to be healthy, and never eat them, I would not accept.

I love veggies and cookies. But not together. Unless it’s carrot cake or zucchini bread flavored cookies, or sweet potato cookies, in which case SIGN ME UP!

Anyway, my college roomie/bestie Heather always made amazing enchiladas, and I stole her recipe and started making them all the time. Always with tons of bold and spicy green sauce.

I always kind of assumed that the sauce must be healthy because, well, it’s green–how bad could it be? I mean, the store bought kind isn’t terrible, but it totally includes all those things I can’t pronounce, which sucks, and it’s expensive! In fact, I made a quart and a half for probably about the amount I’d spend on one can at the grocery store!

It’s also incredibly easy. Like, ridiculous easy. I think it took me about 30 minutes start to finish, but that includes about 20 minutes of veggie roasting time in which I got important life things done, like emptying the dishwasher. Uggghhh, I HATE emptying the dishwasher. I have to do it while cookies are chilling, or food is in the oven so that I trick myself into believing it’s part of that task, not it’s own crappy task.

The sauce came out bold, slightly spicy (you can easily adjust the spice by adding extra chiles), and fantastically thick. I hate runny sauces. I feel like I can never soak them up and get the full flavor, but this is thick, almost like a well blended salsa. In fact, I could easily just eat it with a spoon.

I know it’s barely April, but Cinco de Mayo will be here before you know it, and trust me, you don’t want to buy the canned stuff at the last minute. This stuff will keep in the fridge for at least 2 weeks (that’s how long mine’s been going strong), or you can freeze it for much longer. I made a huge batch, so I will have my own on hand for a very long time.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 1 1/2 quarts

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

Simple and easy homemade green chile enchilada sauce. Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
3 lbs tomatillos, husks and stems removed, halved
3 green chiles, ribs and seeds removed
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1/2 head garlic, peeled
2 jalapenos, stems removed (seeds and ribs are optional depending on how spicy you like it)
1 lime
1/2 bunch cilantro
Heavy pinch sea salt
Pinch black pepper
1 tbsp ground cumin

Instructions

Place tomatillos, chiles, onion, garlic and jalapeno in a large baking dish. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and broil until tender and lightly charred, about 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it--if onion and garlic begin to cook faster, remove them first.
Transfer your cooked ingredients to your food processor or blender. Zest the lime into the mixture, then add the juice. Add cilantro and remaining seasonings and blend until well combined, about 30 seconds. Store in an airtight container refrigerated for 2 weeks, or freeze for months.

https://arismenu.com/green-chile-enchilada-sauce/

Spicy Vegan Meatless Sauce

Orange Cranberry Sauce

Fat Free Thousand Island Dressing

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

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