Shelf Stable Saturday tomato paste

                It's Saturday Again!

  This week feels like I skidded sideways into the weekend saying "Did we make it?!?" But of course we did make it, maybe with not all I hoped to do during the week, but we survived. I hope you had a good week too!

 This week's shelf stable ingredient is tomato paste. These tiny, inexpensive cans pack a punch of flavor! A lot of people use it for chili, but that is not all this little unassuming can is good for. Below is a recipe for tomato soup, it tastes a little different than Campbell's but is really good!

Tomato soup from Tomato paste

• 2 6oz cans tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, basil, oregano, salt and pepper
• 3 cups of milk 

 

1.  In a large saucepan combine the tomato paste and water.  Stir in the baking soda, sugar, and spices.

2.  Heat the tomato paste mixture over medium heat.  This is a thick mixture and it pops and splatters, so you’ll probably want to cover it, stirring occasionally.  Let it simmer for 10 minutes.

3.  In a separate large saucepan, heat the 3 cups of milk.

4.  When both the tomato paste mixture and the milk are about the same temperature (just use your best estimate), combine the two by slowly pouring the warmed milk into the tomato paste, stirring it as you go.

– Baking soda adds a bit of alkalinity to counteract the acidity of the tomato paste, with the acidity being what causes curdling to begin with.

– Keeping the two phases separate until the last minute and combining them at the same temperature helps also, though I don’t really know why.

 This is a great go to recipe for when you are craving some tomato soup and grilled cheese, but out of your favorite soup. You might find that you like it better! I got the recipe from The Make Your Own Zone

 Here are a collection of links for ideas on how to use this inexpensive grocery staple. Have a great weekend!

15 Minute Pasta with Creamy Tomato Sauce - the blog post has plenty of ideas if you need ingredient substitutions

Easy Homemade Pizza sauce  

Fast Marinara  there are tons of ideas for quick spaghetti/marinara sauce on the web

Cheesy White Bean and Tomato Bake this is one of those recipes that is almost not a recipe since there are so many ways to customize it, some suggestions in the comments

And this huge list  of ideas from Taste of Home!

Let me know what you think!

Sarah