VegieCentric Two-fer Sauce

VegieCentric Two-fer Sauce

I love this recipe, because it is two recipes. I see that our cool days are coming to an end, and I haven’t cooked this meal this winter.

So here’s the deal. My spaghetti sauce and my chili sauce are 90% the same base. So I make a big pot of the common ingredients, and then I finish them separately. The Spag gets fresh oregano from my hydroponic garden. My chili gets black beans, cumin and chili powder. Both are stored in small containers for future lunches/meals. Mostly lunches.

Heat up some olive oil. Add onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, grape tomatoes and saute. Add a big can of diced tomatoes and a big can of crushed tomatoes. Add some crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper. Then thin-slice a zucchini, quarter it and add to the mix. Add fresh smashed garlic to taste.

While this cooks, cook your protein of choice (or leave it out). Tonight I air-fried a package of chicken tenderloins. Add this to the pot. I’ve done ground chicken, ground turkey, sliced ground chuck and rib meat.

After a slow simmer, 30 minutes to an hour, separate the results. For the chili, add cumin and black beans. For the spag-bol, add fresh oregano and basil.

Cool and store. For my dinner tonight I had the chili. I topped it with Mexican 4 cheese and corn chips.

I now have half a dozen lunches in the freezer. I use my label-maker to keep things organized.