RMTV Kitchen: Four Basic Sauces That Get Your Man In The Kitchen

On today’s show, Real Nutriton Q & A, guest-chef (and boyfriend extraordinaire) Andrew Labbe shared some easy, non-threatening sauces that can introduce your honey to cooking.  He also stressed a few major points that are worth repeating:

1) Less is More – some of the best recipes have only 4-5 ingredients, allowing the true flavors to come out.  This way of cooking is also less intimidating and more affordable!

2) Don’t Make it Pretty – focus first on flavor, and deal with presentation once you’ve mastered the basics!  If the dish tastes fabulous, nobody cares what it looks like AND it’s all about having fun.

3) Plan to Fail – when you and your loved ones start tinkering with the basic sauces below, expect to have some flubbed dishes!  Andrew made many, many batches of Gumbo before he figured out what worked – it’s all part of the adventure, so laugh a little and make the necessary adjustments.

4) Share the Experience – invite your husband or significant other to join in – give them the 3 x 5 card (see below) with some quick instructions, and let them try their hand.  This also goes for kids – cooking together is truly a celebration and worth the time.

5) Use Your Time Wisely – if your excuse is that you don’t have time to cook, remember that when your chicken, stock or tomato sauce is roasting or simmering, you can use this time to do homework with the kids, take a shower, catch up on emails, etc.

Here are examples of 3 x 5 cards with basic sauce ingredients:

Put 2 t. canola oil is a saute pan, and cook diced onion and garlic until soft.  Throw in canned tomatoes and sauce a let simmer.  This is a basic tomato sauce that you would buy in a can at the grocery store.  Now you can add a pinch or two of oregano and/or basil for a tasty pasta sauce, or add 1/2 a can of tomato paste (or more for your desired thickness) to make a pizza sauce.  Throw in a couple handfuls of sliced mushrooms for a heartier sauce and flavor.  Remember the basic tomato sauce is the first place to start!

When your done eating your roasted chicken, throw all the ingredients above into a stock pot and cover with water.  Simmer over low heat for 7-8 hours and voila…a delicious, healthy, natural chicken stock without all the sodium and preservatives.  Feel free to add a pinch or two of salt and pepper to taste.

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Over low heat stir in flour to make a thick paste.  Then slowly pour in the milk while stirring to make a creamy sauce.  Keep the temperature low and continue to stir until it’s creamy so that you don’t get clumps.  Use this sauce in place of high-sodium cream-of-mushroom soup.  This is also a wonderful base for homemade mac ‘n cheese or a light pasta sauce with lots of veggies.

MagicBullet Basic Marinade:

1 cup low-sodium Tamari

1 heaping Tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 heaping Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon canola oil

Put all ingredients in the MagicBullet and blend until smooth.  Throw this on top of some chicken, fish or beef in a bowl or plastic bag, and stick in the fridge for the day to marinade.  You can also use this as a stir fry sauce, or the basis for a yummy salad dressing.  Remember to play around and see what works.  I sometimes add a dash or two of hot sauce to spice this up, or I’ll add the juice of 2-3 oranges to make a yummy dressing for roasted veggies and brown rice.

If you missed today’s show, Click Here to watch the taped version.

Please enter your comments and any other ideas for getting your man into the kitchen – the saucier the better!

Have a wonderful day ~