Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Harissa.

Herbed Chimichurri.

My two favorite sauces (well, aside from pesto. But you all know that from the three seperate versions posted on here). Yes, I do make other things, and these two babies are also always in my freezer. My weeknight arsenal, if you will.

Have we talked about my freezer yet?

Get out! No?

I love my freezer.

Let’s talk about practicality here. Even though I love to cook, I’m not going to pretend that I spend the time to make full gourmet meals every night, especially during the week. Far from it.  In fact, this time of year, most nights I don’t get home until 8:30 or 9pm and I’m hungry. But that doesn’t mean I need to spend a lot of time or money to eat well, quickly and have it taste great.

Hello, freezer. You sweet little thing.

Having sauces like this in your freezer, either with the ice cube method or in small containers, gives a little sass to your food and a great flavor over anything you have around. Frozen veggies or plain stir fried/roasted ones? Transformed. Chicken breast or fish in your fridge? Delicious. They can also do double duty as a marinade if you have time to plan ahead.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Harissa:

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper

1 poblano pepper

1 jalepeno pepper

1 pint baby tomatoes

1 clove garlic

3 tsp cumin

sea salt & pepper

olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400. Cut and de-seed the peppers, and add the tomatoes- no need to slice.  Place on a baking sheet with the clove of garlic and toss everything with olive oil, sea salt and pepper:

2. Roast for 20 min or until charred a bit. Let cool, then place all ingredients in a blender with some water (enough so that it spins) and olive oil. Yes, you’re done. That’s it!

Herbed Chimichurri:

1 bunch parsley, leaves only

1 bunch cilantro, leaves only

3 tablespoons capers

2 garlic cloves

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil + water to blend

Directions:

1. Either finely chop all ingredients, add olive oil and spices and let sit together in a bowl for 30 min to let the flavors meld. This creates more of a rub than sauce. Or, if you’re short on time, do as I did and throw it all in the blender:

2. The blender creates a more liquid consistancy as seen below, but the flavors are the same. Blending is great if you are going to freeze it or use right away:

3. Add the leftover sauce to your ice cube trays, or in small containers so they are easier to defrost for individual meals than all at once. Just remove from the freezer and place in hot water or add to the hot pan with your cooking food.

Beautiful colors, great flavors, easy to find ingredients and easy to make. I think I know what you all are doing this weekend.

Who else has great sauces for busy weeknight dinners? Or ones that need a little healthy makeover to keep them clean? Share ’em here!