Friday, December 4, 2020

Easy and Delicious: Pasta with Muir Glen Organic Pasta Sauce

It's December, people. It gets dark early. It is cold. There is a plague of COVID-19 roaring around the country. In these times, it is important to eat well. And a hot, comforting bowl of pasta fits right into the need for cozy, nourishing food that tastes great but doesn't take too much work.

When serving pasta, I'm a big fan of making my own pasta sauce. But we all know that there are some days when that just isn't going to happen. But because the dinner show must go on, it becomes handy to have a jar of sauce in the pantry that you can rely upon.

For me, that jar is Muir Glen Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce. It has a lovely taste, color and texture. When heating it up, I may add a little chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, and even a bit of butter. Last night we had a simple dinner of raw clams on the half shell, and a plate of fresh linguini from the market tossed with Muir Glen pasta sauce and topped with grated parmesan cheese. With a glass of red wine, it was an easy, yummy, December dinner.

Check it out for your dinner rotation.


Easy Pasta Dinner Shopping List

A package of fresh linguini from the market.

Muir Glen Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

Clams on the half shell or shrimp cocktail on the side, or perhaps diced white meat from a rotisserie chicken tossed into the sauce.

To grate over the pasta and sauce, Parmesan or a combination of cheeses such as one part of either Emmentaler, Gruyere or Edam combined with and an equal sized part of either mozzarella or fontina.

A plate of olives and pepperoncini on the table is fun, too. Or sprinkle a few capers around the side of the pasta bowl to make it pretty.





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Friday, October 16, 2020

Simple Vinaigrette for a Green Salad

An easy way to elevate a meal is by adding a simple green salad as a side dish. Keep the following items on your permanent grocery list and a salad is quick and easy to put together:

  • A package of your favorite greens 
  • An addition such as a tomato, cucumber, or red onion
  • Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
  • A package of croutons (or make your own if you have more time). 
After you assemble the greens with diced tomato, thinly sliced cucumber or thinly sliced red onion, top it off with an easy vinaigrette dressing. I like to mix together vinaigrettes in a small, glass jar with a lid, such as a half-pint, 8-ounce Ball jar. After the dressing is on the greens, top the salad with the croutons and a few gratings of cheese or a sprinkle of nutritional yeast

Simple Vinaigrette

  • 3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, such as Olio Santo
  • 1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. dry mustard
  • Freshly ground pepper
Combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a glass jar. When you are ready to serve the salad, stir the vinaigrette vigorously until well combined, pour it over the greens, and then add croutons.

As the old saying goes, we eat first with our eyes. A green salad on the table, particularly in winter, is a treat to the eye and a crunchy, delicious compliment to a meal. 


As always, links to Amazon are provided for your convenience. As an Amazon Associate, I may receive a small commission if, after clicking a link, you subsequently make a purchase. Thank you!