Marinara is another great thing to freeze, grab a bag, some meatballs or chicken for parm, or what have you, cook up some pasta and you have a meal. When I started making Zoodles, Voodles, Squoodles I noticed how many little bits and bobs of the squashes I had left, and chunky vegetable marinara was born. Nothing wrong with the pure plain tomato marinara but something in the tomatoes seems to hold up the veggies in this, and it comes out as more hearty meal.
The players. Zucchini and squash bits from the zoodles, mushrooms, mini-peppers, onion, garlic, caned tomatoes from the scratch & dent bin, black olives, and the basil stems for more flavor.
Chop about 1/2 a good sized onion or about 1/2 cup, more or less. Onions come in all sizes, so “one onion” is a pretty vague measurement. When you cut into an onion you only want to cut away as much as you need, leaving the ‘natural packaging’ on the outside, store it in the fridge, cut side down in a sealed bag or container.
Cut the mini-peppers in half, and scrape the ribs and seeds out with a spoon. Then roughly chop. This IS chunky after all. I love these little guys, great color, easy to freeze, multiple uses, and super nutritious. Just one of these babies contains a full days vitamin C. Yes, more than an orange.
Chop the mushrooms.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large pan.
When the oil is hot add the onions and peppers and sauté to soften. Add in the mushrooms and toss to coat with the oil. Sauté for a few more minutes.
Smash chop a good handful of garlic cloves, these are smaller ones so needed a few. Add garlic to the pan.
Add the canned tomatoes, these were the scratch and dent, a fire roasted with garlic variety.
Put about 1/2 can of water into one of the empty cans and use it to rinse both cans. The water will bring everything together as the sauce simmers.
Give the squash pieces a bit of a chop to get them to appropriate sizes. You want everything about the same size. Stir them in. Place the basil & parsley stems in the pot whole, after the simmer I want to be able to pull them out.
Chili flake, Italian seasoning, oregano, parsley flake. Simmer on low 20 ish minutes.
Slice the black olives into the simmering sauce. Pull out the herb stems. Grab a good handful of spinach. It looks like a lot but it will cook down. You want to add the spinach just toward the end and cook it just to wilt. How pretty is that!
I have always cooked, I was that person who could make a meal from an empty fridge. I have lived alone and with large and small families, I have cooked for camps on wood stoves, and in professional kitchens. I have lived and worked all over the west from Montana, to Seattle to Arizona to San Diego. I have traveled, maybe not 'all over the world', yet, and have collected tastes recipes and techniques everywhere, and every one I meet.
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