Okay, so, even though I was totally in the mood to cook last Friday night ~ I even stopped by the store to get the ingredients I didn’t already have at home to make me some meatloaf ~ as the night and weekend wore on, my motivation disappeared. I was definitely in the less-is-more mindset when it came to meals. I did, however, get some of the prep work done, and that included mixing up a batch of pizza sauce.
Now, I bet you’re wondering what the heck pizza sauce has to do with meatloaf. It’s a valid question. I myself wasn’t entirely sure after I’d pulled out my splattered card that had Mom’s recipe on it and saw listed there a mere four ingredients, none of which was tomato anything.
It was then I realized that in the manner of any good cook, I’d modified Mom’s recipe to suit my tastes. Thinking back, meatloaf is the first dish that I put away the recipe for and began to make from memory. It’s even part of something I like to call “Midwestern Madness,” a hearty meal also featuring mashed potatoes and something green on the side that harkens back to my childhood in Saint Paul. When exactly I’d begun adding garlic powder, onion powder, tomato sauce or whatever else appealed I couldn’t tell you, but I like my Italian version of Mom’s meatloaf with its pizza sauce and that’s really what’s important when I’m cooking for myself, don’t you think?
A Tip from Nikki’s Kitchen
While making up this batch of sauce, it also reminded me of a neat trick that Mom taught me years ago on how best to deal with that tiny can of tomato paste. Now, even if you have a super-skinny spatula with which to scoop out the insides of that narrow can ~ in point of fact, I have two ~ there is a much simpler method that’s a lot less messy:
- Use your opener on both ends of the can.
- Push gently on end until you can see the tin disc you cut emerge from the other end of the “tube.”
- Carefully slide off the disc and set aside.
- Push the other tin disc down inside the tube until it and the slab of tomato paste drops into your mixing bowl.
- Slide off the second disc.
- Using the aforementioned skinny spatula, scrape off the paste from the discs and the inside of the tube to get the remaining little bits of tomato paste into the bowl.
- Optional, but recommended: rinse off the discs and tube, and recycle. :)
Nikki’s Pizza Sauce: the Recipe
With the above tip in mind, add the following ingredients to a mixing bowl; I like glass for this kind of sauce so it doesn’t taste metallic:
- 16 oz. (2 small cans) tomato sauce; I prefer the no salt added variety
- 6 oz. (1 small) can tomato paste
- 2 tbsp Italian seasonings (that mix of basil, oregano, etc.)
With your stirring implement of choice ~ I prefer a good mid-sized whisk, myself ~ mix all the ingredients together until well blended. If it looks a little thin on the spices side, add up to another 2 tbsp. of the Italian seasonings.
Decant the sauce into a glass jar ~ I think I used a 24 oz. one ~ and don’t forget to label it, including the date. I have these nifty “Label Once” labels that are erasable, and they’re perfect for just this scenario because you can still read them if you put whatever you’ve labeled in the freezer.
All that’s left for you to enjoy. Sure, you could go the traditional route and slather the sauce onto your choice of pizza crust; I personally use it most with French bread pizza. This time, though, I think I’m going to dollop some into my meatloaf mix when that motivation finally strikes.
Photos ©2011 NixDesk
