basic tomato sauce for many uses

This is an easy tomato sauce recipe that can be used for many things and for many tastes

Start by eating your oven at 350 degrees.

on  a cookie sheet place 1-2 pints of cherry or grape tomatoes.  This sauce will freeze well so you can make extra for the future.  cook the tomatoes until they pop, about 10-20 minutes depending on their size.

Now that you have roasted tomatoes you can make them what you want!

puree the roasted tomatoes in a food processor or use a stick blender in a pot to breakdown the tomatoes.  At this point you can add what you want to make it what you like and then simmer for all of the flavors to meld together.  I usually thin it out with some water or tea to get more bang for my buck.

Italian version of the tomato sauce

Suggestions to add to the sauce for Italian flavors:

add chopped garlic
add roasted garlic
add fresh chopped basil or oregeno
add chopped spinach or sauteed onions
add dried herbs or granulated garlic powder

Suggestions to add to the sauce for Mexican flavors:
add chopped raw onoins
add cilantro
add chopped peppers
add dried herbs

Suggestions to add to the sauce for Asian flavors:
add peppers
add garlic
add mint or cilantro

both versions are good as a warm sauce over meat, or even used to simmer with the meat for a great way to infuse flavor and moisture to chicken.  Chilled it is a great sauce for dipping chicken nuggets (see recipe on this blog) or with veggies or your melba toast! If you thin it out a bit more with water or tea, served hot or cold it is a great soup!

HCG Italian Chicken Nuggets

yesterday I made some great  Italian Chicken Nuggets that are HCG approved.

Italian Chicken Nuggets with dipping sauce and apples

Italian Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:
3.5 oz chicken tenders (usually about 2 tenders) cut into 6 total pieces
2 tablespoons Liquid Aminos
2 Melba Toasts (crushed into crumbs)
seasonings of your choice (I choose salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder and Italian seasoning)
Pre-heat oven 375

Marinating and breading the chicken:
I marinated the chopped chicken pieces in the liquid amino drops to add more flavor to the meat.  Longer you let it marinade the more flavor you get, I only let it sit for 30 minutes and it was still effective.    Once the chicken has marinated place the crushed Melba toast crumbs in a baggie along with the seasonings of your choice and add the marinated chicken.  keeping some of the toast crumbs in larger chunks gave it even more crunch!  In this version I found that the marinade provided enough moisture to allow the toast crumbs to stick to the chicken just fine without the normal egg and flour wash process.

Cooking the nuggets: 
Place the Melba breaded chicken nuggets on a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet and very lightly sprayed them with some non-fat cooking spray (very lightly is key here!).  The cooling rack allows the heat to get on both sides of the chicken which allows both sides to get crispy evenly without having to flip them.  The cooking spray also helps the bread crumbs brown giving you a fried effect.  Cook for about 12-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Eating the nuggets:
I served mine with a homemade marinara sauce for dipping.  I will post that recipe next.  Please note this recipe can be changed into many things and used in many ways depending on your tastes and needs. I made 12 nuggets total and used the other 6 for lunch the next day.  I diced them up and placed them over a bunch of mixed greens and topped with an easy dressing that I will also post!  they were great the next day, even cold!

back on round 2

I have managed to keep off 4 of the 6 lbs I lost when I started this in February.  I had to end it short due to a cold, but I am back now!

I startedmy load up days on Sunday and today started the restricted diet.  I have had my apple and had a great lunch with the special soy noodles, shrimp and spinach.  added some pepper flakes for a real kick, it was so filling I didn't finish all of the noodles!

I have a mixed greens salad with some grilled chicken for dinner.  I had already cooked shrimp and chicken and had it measured it out and put it in the freezer last time, so it was super easy to pull out of the freezer and have it all ready!  fingers crossed for round 2

funny pictures

If I get down, I can always check this post for some funny pics.... don't take offense to what I think is funny...if you don't think it is funny, then move on to the next page... this world wouldn't be unique if we all liked and disliked the same things, it is what makes us special, so don't judge!