Sweet Red Onion Sauce w/ Tri- Colored Spaghetti

This sauce is amazing. The sweet red onions really give this sauce depth and tons of flavor. This sauce takes less than 15 minutes to put together and it's so delicious!

Ingredients:
- 1 medium red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 small carrots, sliced in circles
- 10 garlic cloves, chopped
- 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 package of tri-colored spaghetti
- 1 can plain tomato sauce
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper


To Make:
Salt a pot of water and boil the spaghetti about 8 minutes until al-dente.

Begin sauteing the onion, carrots and garlic in olive oil on medium heat.

In the meantime, in a food processor pulse the diced tomatoes and the fresh garlic about 6 times for 2 seconds each pulse.

After the vegetables are soft, (about 8-10 minutes of cooking) add in the can of plain tomato sauce and the diced tomatoes. Mix together. Add the oregano, sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and Parmesan cheese. Mix together. Cover and cook about 10 minutes on medium heat.

Drain the pasta, drizzle with olive oil and plate it, topping with the fresh sauce.

Serve and enjoy!

Pork Chops with White Beans, Tomato and Rice

Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups minute rice
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 can plain tomato sauce
- 1 can white canellini beans
- 2 thinly sliced pork chops
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 7 garlic cloves, chopped
- olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon salt

To Make:
In a sauce pan, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil untill tender, about 6 minutes on medium heat. Add in the can of plain tomato sauce and the can of petite diced tomatoes. Season with 1 teaspoon of the following: oregano, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and paprika. Add in 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of salt. Mix together. Add in the canellini beans. Reduce to medium low heat and cover.

In another sauce pan, boil 2 cups of salted water and add in the minute rice. Reduce heat to medium-high and let sit, uncovered until rice is done.

In a medium saute pan, drizzle olive oil and heat the pan for 2 minutes. In the meantime, season the pork chops with oregano, salt, pepper and paprika.

Add them into the saute pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side on medium high heat.

Let the sauce cook for about 10-20 minutes before serving.

To Plate:
Arrange a scoop of rice on a plate and top with sauce and beans. Place pork chop on the side. Serve immediatly.

"Leftover" Sauce

I guess it's an Italian thing because I'm a big believer in not throwing away ANY food (especially food that I've made) so when there are several leftovers around, I just combine them together into delicious creations like this, "leftover" sauce.

Ingredients:
You can either use a sauce that you've already prepared and add to it, or you can start from scratch with:

- 1 can diced tomatos
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1.5 cups water
- 1 small onion, diced
- 12 garlic cloves, chopped


Use leftovers from the following:
- 1/2 green pepper, diced use leftovers from Stuffed Peppers
- kidney beans use leftovers from Mexican Bean Soup
- pinch of feta cheese use leftovers from Feta, Basil and Lemon Pasta
- Peas/Carrots mix use leftovers from Pan Seared Tuna with Peas & Carrots

Season with:
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- crushed red pepper
- oregano
- sugar
- salt
- pepper

To Make:

If you are starting from scratch, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes on medium high heat or until tender.

In a food processor, pulse the diced tomatoes 3 times, 2 seconds each. Add into a saucepan with tomato paste and add 1.5 cups of water.

Add in the onions and garlic and all other ingredients. Add a teaspoon of the following: crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Mix together.

Add 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and mix together. Cook on the stove for 20-30 minutes on low heat stirring frequently.

Serve with pasta and serve while hot.

ENJOY!