Dinner’s On

It’s been forever since I’ve posted anything that I’ve been making in my kitchen, so while I wait for the potatoes to come to a boil so I can saute up some of the fresh asparagus that’s waiting for the frying pan, I thought I would pop over here and let y’all know that dinner is about ready to be eaten!

For starters, I’m using two specific items from the April 2018 Degustabox for this meal, and both come from La Tortilla Factory.

Deviating a little from the recipe, and using what I have on hand, I have a pork loin (the sauce recipe called for beef vs pork) in my Crock Pot with La Tortilla Factory’s Cocina Fresca Barbacoa Slow Cooker Sauce Starter. And IT SMELLS AMAZING! Seriously, my house smells so good right now and I can’t wait to go pull the pork apart for… TACOS!

Yes! Pork tacos! They are one of my fave things, and since one of my other Degustabox goodies from April was a package of La Tortilla Factory’s Handmade Style White Corn and Wheat Tortillas, I figured pork tacos was the way to go!

As mentioned above, I have potatoes on the stove, and they are there for no other reason than I have been craving mashed potatoes for weeks and just needed to have them today. The Asparagus is ready to go with olive oil and some Pink Himalayan Salt (just because I can), and the pork is ready to be pulled, and YOU can get your hands on more information about these items from La Tortilla Factory by clicking right HERE!

And just because I did get these from Degustabox, I’ll share my link for that as well, which will get any new customer $10.00 off their first box. Believe me, it’s totally worth it! I’ve been getting Degustabox since they first started in 2016 and I don’t think I will ever give it up. I’ve learned about new brands, new items, and even things I would normally buy at the store, at least $30.00 less than I would spend at the store to get those items, plus whatever else is on my shopping list.

Give it a shot, if you want, and if you do, comment and let me know what you think of it. I would love to hear if you enjoy it as much as me and my family do!

♥

Get your discounted first Degustabox here.

Pasta Sauce on the Fly

Every once in a while I come across something that I think would be great with or for dinner, or even as a snack. It’s rare, however, that I actually bother using what I have found in the way I had intended. Hey, I’ve always admitted I can be lazy when it comes to implementing the ideas I have, but that doesn’t stop me from having them or wanting to make them happen.

When I have the time, of course…

But, I digress.

Over the course of the last few months, I received these three specific items in my Degustabox deliveries, all of the same brand, that I decided needed to be turned into something! (My apologies for the nasty glare on the tube of tomato paste.)

I had seen the Mutti brand name in the store before, but honestly, I don’t tend to buy tomato products unless I have a plan to make chili or a meaty spaghetti sauce, so I had never tried them.

The tomato paste showed up first, back in April, and I was sort of nonplussed about it. Believe it or not, I really was that thrilled about receiving something that I always mean to grab at the store, to have on hand, and always forget to actually grab. It was the start of my brain working to decide what I would use it for and then turned into wondering how long it would sit in my pantry before actually being used.

When the May box came along, I was even more excited to see the chopped tomatoes. I even joked to my kids that if we got a tomato sauce in the next box, we would have all the fixings for a killer pasta sauce, and I was secretly hoping a can would show up in the June box.

However, I had to wait until July’s delivery showed up to find out that there was a can of their tomato sauce included and I went completely squealing crazy happy about it.

Okay, I didn’t go jumping up and down and get out of hand, but I did squee and I did happen to get that girly squealing voice that women get when they get super excited about something. And who could blame me?! I love that I get things like these items in Degustabox and that over the course of a few months, I managed to get everything for the base to a good sauce.

Soooo, I have had these items sitting on my bigger pan on the stove for a good week, waiting for the perfect day to just through it all together. Today was that day.

I set to work with a few extra items I had on hand, and one more Degustabox goody, and heated up the pan. This is one of those things where you just kind of eyeball how much you are going to use of each extra ingredient and flavor to taste.

I emptied the two cans of Mutti tomato products into the pan, and then squeezed about one third of the tube of tomato paste in. I know that may seem like a lot of tomato paste, but had I a small can of it instead of a tube, I would have used the whole can.

I added between 1 and 2 tablespoons of the Goya Extra Virgin Olive Oil (also from my July Degustabox), and roughly 1 tablespoon of the dried oregano and the same for the dried onion.

** Side note: I keep dried things like the oregano and onion on hand, because most fresh ingredients that I bring into my house, if not used the day I bring them home, go bad before I remember I have them. I’m a lazy chef/baker, remember? And, all in all, they work just fine when flavoring sauces on the fly. I’m usually looking for quick prep and cook times, and chopping up something fresh takes time that I don’t usually have. **

The best part of this sauce was that it didn’t need too much added flavoring. I did not add any salt in, and where I did add more of the tomato paste (using half the tube, total), it wasn’t lacking in any sort of flavor. It also was not overpowered by flavors, either.

This one big(ish) pot was enough sauce for me, the husband, and my daughter. (My son is not big on tomatoes. He won’t even eat ketchup on his fries! I know, right?!) Sprinkled with some Parmesan Romano cheese and it was absolutely divine!

Oh, and there are leftovers for a least two more servings, maybe three, depending how much sauce you like on your pasta.

In closing all I really can say is that I love pasta, pasta sauce and Degustabox!

I do suggest to any reader interested to click on this link to go check out Degustabox for yourself. Degustabox is a subscription service, that sends you a box each month full of surprise food items. Some of them may be new to you, and some you may have already been purchasing for your home, but everything is more than worth the $19.99/mo cost. Also, if you sign up while using this link you’ll receive $10.00 off your first box.

Believe me, it is totally worth it!

♥