Hi.  My name is Mark and this is my cooking blog.

I get asked a lot for my recipes, so I decided to start this cooking blog.  What you’ll find here will be my recipes and my variations on others’ recipes, my cooking tips and who knows what else. 

I should say up front that I’m lactose intolerant (check out my lactose intolerance site www.nowhey.org) and I also try to live a low-carb lifestyle.  So the recipes you’ll find here will generally be devoid of milk and milk products and try, wherever possible, to be low in carbs.

I hope you enjoy the site and the recipes.

Mark

This is my “chunky” red sauce recipe.  It has chunks of carrots, celery and onion in it.   I serve it over homemade pasta but we’ve also had it with rice and with just steamed veggies like zucchini and spinach.  I updated this receipe on 9/16/14 to reflect the way I make it now.  Basically I have added tomato sauce to make it less thick and stretch it a little.

Ingredients
(makes enough to serve 4-8)

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (or 6-8 fresh ripe tomatoes, peeled and diced)
1 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1.5 tbs sugar
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, fine diced
1 large carrot, peeled and fine diced
1 large celery rib, fine diced
1/4 cup sweet marsala wine
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 lb lean ground beef

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, saute the onions, carrots and celery in the olive oil until softened, about 8-10 minutes.  Add in the seasoning blend and garlic and sauté another minute or so.  Stir in the marsala to deglaze the pan, then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper and sugar, stiring well to combine.  Bring back to a simmer and stir in the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces.  Simmer on low for another 30-40 minutes.

You can serve this immediately over fresh pasta, rice or vegetables, but it’s even better of you make this a day ahead and serve it the next day.