Eat Simply, Eat Well

Healthy recipes & tips to help you live the good life. by Ann Plough

Seriously Simple Pizza Sauce

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Seriously Simple Pizza Sauce

If you already make pizza often, you probably have a go-to sauce that you are loving.

But just in case you don’t, or just in case you’d like to try something else for a change, consider this sauce. I make it every time I make pizza.  I use it as spaghetti sauce sometimes.  I pour it over meatballs and then let the whole thing stew in the oven.  It is seriously so simple to make.  Open can/jar/purkki of tomato sauce and pour into pot.  Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, olive oil.  Bring to boil; reduce to simmer; leave it alone for 25 min.  If you like it even thicker, let it simmer for 30 minutes or more. Blend until smooth.  Cool.  Spread. Bake pizza. Eat happy.

That’s it.  You can make a huge batch and freeze it.  You can make ahead and use it later.  Your kids can make it while you cheer them on.  Your hubby can whip up a batch while you sit on the couch and catch up on Facebook.

Which is one of the reasons I’m posting it here: so my sweetheart has a recipe to follow and I can relax and enjoy the smells wafting from the kitchen in the off-chance I don’t feel like cooking some day.

But this time, it’s all on me, so here’s the recipe.  Enjoy!

Did you like it?  Let me know in the comments below!

Here we are folks:  ready to pour or spread on the pizza dough of choice


Seriously Simple Pizza Sauce

1 – 500g can/jar/purkki of plain tomato sauce 
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into fourths
2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning / Pizza mauste (alternatively, 1/3 cup packed, fresh basil leaves)
3/4 teaspooon salt
5 grinds of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar (rounds out the flavor)

Put all of the ingredients into a small pot.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat.  Cover partially with a lid as the sauce will spit and spatter as it cooks down and thickens.  After 25-30 minutes, remove the sauce from heat.  If you have an immersion blender, this is a great time to use it to blend the sauce until smooth.  If you don’t, carefully transfer the hot sauce to a heat-proof blender or food processor container and process until smooth.

Makes approximately 2 cups / 5 dl

Cinnamon, Vanilla & Oranges

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Christmas is over and all of the decorations are safely back in their boxes in storage; the tree has been removed and all the needles (mostly) vacuumed away; and only a few scattered Christmas treats (caramels, orangettes) linger in the kitchen. Christmas is a beautiful time; yet somehow, I always breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over and gone, and we can move on with our lives and plan for a new year.

My living room feels huge, for one thing – now that the decorated fir tree is no longer stretching its lower branches across my carpet and now that the frenzy of gift buying and giving have been put aside for the moment, it’s a time to pause and reflect, and to start off fresh.

There will be people around the world making New Year’s resolutions tomorrow – promises to do this, not that.  Lose weight, save money, exercise more, accomplish a specific goal, learn something new, go somewhere they’ve always dreamed of, and to eat a more healthy diet.

I can help with that last one, starting off with one simple dessert.  This is the salad I made for Christmas Morning – tired of the chocolate and sweets and heavy foods for a moment and inspired by the grapefruit and orange slices served with cinnamon at a pre-Christmas breakfast at a friend’s house, I arranged a pile of beautiful, bright, fresh oranges and added cinnamon, vanilla and a sprig of mint.  Never has a pile of fresh, raw fruit been so welcomed.

As you close out this year with a bang and start the new year off fresh with high hopes and promising dreams, take a moment to stir together this salad and serve it for yourself or for guests as you contemplate Auld Lang Syne.  This one couldn’t be easier.  You’ll get a bit of a zing from the cinnamon and a perfumed softness from the vanilla, both of which combine to elevate the orange to a new, dessert level.  If you wish, add a dollop of greek yogurt or creme fraiche for a true indulgence.


Cinnamon, Vanilla & Oranges

4 oranges, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
a few mint sprigs for garnish

Combine the oranges and vanilla in a small bowl.  Sprinkle the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon over the top.  Flip the oranges over a few times to coat them completely with the vanilla and cinnamon.  Sprinkle a little more cinnamon over the top, add a mint sprig for beauty, and serve.

This dish can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to two days.

Serves 4.

Cranberry Apple Ginger Smoothie

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There’s nothing better in the middle of the holiday season rush than a refreshing smoothie as a pick-me-up.  Taking advantage of seasonal fruit, this delicious drink will wake you right out of any afternoon slump, post-party blahs, or sugar crash you’re experiencing.

Grab an organic apple, a handful of cranberries (or lingonberries) add some ginger, dates and flax, and top it off with plain yogurt, kefir or buttermilk and blend it up.  Share half with a friend or save it for later – this is just the thing to get you through the last of your Christmas shopping or card writing session.  We just finished writing up a big pile of cards over here with a few more to go.  Christmas shopping is on the final leg, the tree is up, and the house is as decorated as it’s going to be.

The holiday baking begins tomorrow.  I’ll be needing another round of smoothies to keep my hands out of the cookie jar, no doubt about it.  This is sure to be a seasonal favorite in my house.

Cranberry Apple Ginger Smoothie

2 cups kefir, plain yogurt or buttermilk
1 organic apple, washed and cored, peel left on
1/2 cup / 1 dl fresh or frozen cranberries or lingonberries
1″ / 2.5″ piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 fresh dates, pits removed
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

Combine all the ingredients in a blender jar if using a blender or in a bowl if using an immersion blender.  Blend until completely combined and smooth.  Divide between two glasses.  Enjoy the energy surge.

Serves 2