Month: September 2020

Easy Peasy Tomato Sauce

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Easy Peasy Tomato Sauce

  • Servings: 10 Cups
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

It’s that time of year where the garden is coming to an end and everything is ripe at the same time. I had a lot of sweetheart tomatoes and cherry tomatoes and a few roma tomatoes that were all ripe and needed to be used up or I would lose them. If you don’t mind a few skins in the sauce, then this recipe is for you.

Ingredients

  • 1 very large onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp of white sugar
  • 1 small can of tomato paste
  • 10 cups of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of pepper
  • 2 cherry bomb peppers chopped fine
  • 1/4 cup of fresh chopped basil
  • 1/4 cup of fresh chopped oregano
  • 1 ounce of parmesan rind (optional)

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a large heavy stock pot and sweat the onion on medium heat
  2. Once the onion is tender, add garlic and cook for 2 minutes
  3. Add cherry bomb peppers and cook for another 2 minutes
  4. Add chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium-low to simmer. Put the Parmesan rinds in a cheesecloth and put in the sauce. This is optional, I just find it adds a little something but if you don’t have any, the sauce is still good.
  5. Add tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper, basil and oregano, stir and let simmer for 45 minutes.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 41
  • Fat 1.3 g
  • Sugar 4.5 g
  • Carbohydrates 6.6 g
  • Protein 1.4 g
  • Fiber 1.6 g

Now, if you don’t like a sauce with texture, you can peel the roma tomatoes beforehand or put the whole thing through a blender. My husband likes a textured sauce so this was great. He also likes it hot, you can reduce the quantity of cherry bomb peppers or add if you really like it hot. You can change these to jalapeños, or if you are really adventurous to habanero peppers. Or you can omit all together.

If you want to make this into a vegetable sauce, because you have green peppers growing and need to find another use for them, you can add them, including celery, or any veggie you wish. Have fun and make it your own. If you have suggestions, let me know. I like trying new things too.

Rice Pudding Made Light

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Rice Pudding Made Light

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

I love rice pudding, but with anywhere between 250-300 calories per serving, my waist was not liking rice pudding. I used a recipe from a friend and modified it to make this lighter version of her famous rice pudding.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked white rice
  • 1-3/4 cups of water
  • 1-1/2 cups of unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 cup of white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of vanilla
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup of raisins

Directions

  1. In a small stock pot, put water and rice and salt, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, until the water is absorbed.
  2. Add 1-1/2 cups of the milk and sugar, and cook over medium low until thick and creamy. Some liquid must remain or it will be too thick. This should take about 20 minutes. Stir frequently.
  3. During that time, beat the egg and temper with the remaining 1/2 cup of warm almond milk. Add the raisins and vanilla to the mixture.
  4. Once rice is at desired consistency, add egg mixture and cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Put in 8 ramkin bowls or dessert dishes that can be reheated in micro.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 160
  • Fat 1.3 g
  • Sugar 13.5 g
  • Carbohydrates 38.2 g
  • Protein 3.9 g
  • Fiber 1.0 g

Hint: Tempering an egg is the process of beating an egg and adding a warm liquid a little at a time so the egg does not cook. If you were to drop the beaten egg right into the rice mixture you might have an omelet start to form.

Using unsweetened almond milk keeps the pudding creamy without the fat of whole milk. If you use skim milk it will be watery. Besides almond milk has less calories than skim milk. The calorie count listed is with raisins but if you don’t like raisins you can omit or sub for dried cranberries. Be careful which dried fruit you use as some are excessively high in sugar. This is best served warm.

My first attempt was way too thick so I added about a tablespoon or two of almond milk when I reheated them in the micro. For those who like something sweeter, you can serve with a 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup but if you are counting calories remember that those are extra, put a little less raisins and you should be fine.

You can dress them up with fresh berries. You can even make this healthier by using brown rice. Have fun and make it your own.

If you want to make this into a vegetable sauce, because you have green peppers growing and need to find another use for them, you can add them, including celery, or any veggie you wish. Have fun and make it your own. If you have suggestions, let me know. I like trying new things too.

Country Biscuits

The Sunshine Inn Blog7 Comments

Country Biscuits

  • Servings: 12-15 biscuits
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

I like biscuits, and who doesn’t, but I had never made them. I asked a friend if I could have her recipe. When I looked it over, I asked, no baking soda? Well, I don’t think I could have upset her more if I tried. “Are you making soda biscuits or country biscuits?” Since these are country biscuits, take heed no baking soda. I’ll never make that mistake again. I modified it a little to reduce the fat and calorie intake. These are easy to make and are delicious.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon of baking powder
  • 1 cup of low fat milk
  • 1/2 cup of melted low sodium low fat margarine
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 1-3 tbsp of sugar (depending on how sweet you like them) I used 1 tbsp

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl mix dry ingredients.
  3. Add milk and melted margarine. Stir until moistened. Do not over mix. (best to let the margarine cool a bit before adding)
  4. Immediately drop by heaping tablespoons onto lightly greased or parchment paper lined large cookie sheet.
  5. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until edges turn golden brown.

Nutrition Per Serving, 1 biscuit

  • Calories 97
  • Sugar 1.7 g
  • Carbohydrates 17.2 g
  • Protein 2.2 g
  • Fiber 0.5 g
  • Fat 3.6 g

You can serve these with your main course hot with butter or plain. You can serve them at breakfast with jam or preserves. You can have them plain with stew or soups or any way which way you please. Have fun and make them your own, but remember these are country biscuits.