Category: Rosemary Thyme Sauces & Spreads

Rosemary Thyme Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Sweet, smoky, tangy, and ready in about 20 minutes—wonderful for chicken, pork, burgers, meatloaf, or anything fresh from the grill.

Makes: About 1½ cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15–20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons honey, brown sugar, or brown Swerve
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt, optional
• Pinch of cayenne pepper, optional

Directions

1. Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and whisk until smooth.
2. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered for 15–20 minutes, stirring periodically, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the flavors have blended.
4. Taste and adjust as desired. Add a little more honey or brown sugar for sweetness, vinegar for tang, or cayenne for heat.
5. Use immediately or allow the sauce to cool before transferring it to a covered jar.

Rosemary Thyme Notes

• The sauce will thicken a little more as it cools.
• For a completely smooth sauce, blend it briefly after cooling.
• Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.
• When using it on the grill, brush it onto meat during the final few minutes so its natural sugars do not burn.
• Using no-salt-added tomato sauce and leaving out the optional salt keeps this considerably lower in sodium than most bottled barbecue sauces. 🌿

Helene

Rosemary Thyme 🌿

Fall In Love With Home Again 💛🏡

🍅 Roasted Garden Tomato Sauce — From the Garden to the Freezer 🌿

One of my favorite things to make with an abundance of garden tomatoes is homemade roasted tomato sauce.

And I don’t think of tomato sauce as something that’s only for pasta! I freeze mine in portions and use it all winter long in everything from chili and soups to stews, casseroles, pizza and so many of our everyday meals.

Roasting the tomatoes first concentrates their flavor and gives the sauce a wonderful richness. I add olive oil and plenty of Italian herbs—and whether my tomatoes are particularly acidic or not, I almost always add a little honey. 🍯😀 I love the subtle balance it gives the tomatoes.

You can blend this sauce until it’s beautifully smooth or leave it a little chunky and rustic. And there’s no peeling or seeding tomatoes around here! 😂

🍅 Roasted Garden Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
 • 5 lbs ripe garden tomatoes
 • 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
 • 1 tsp dried basil
 • 1 tsp dried oregano
 • ½ tsp dried thyme
 • ½ tsp dried rosemary, crushed
 • ½ tsp dried parsley
 • ¼ tsp black pepper
 • ½ tsp kosher salt, optional
 • 1 tsp honey 🍯
 • Fresh basil or parsley, optional
 • ½ onion and 3–4 garlic cloves, optional

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Wash and core the tomatoes. Quarter large tomatoes and halve smaller ones.
2. Arrange on rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the Italian herbs and black pepper. Add onion and garlic if desired.
3. Roast for 40–55 minutes, or until the tomatoes are very soft, lightly caramelized and some of their liquid has cooked away.
4. Transfer the tomatoes and all those wonderful roasting juices to a Dutch oven or large saucepan.
5. For a chunky sauce, mash or briefly blend with an immersion blender. For a smooth sauce, blend thoroughly.
6. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 15–30 minutes, until the sauce reaches the thickness you like.
7. Stir in the honey, taste and adjust the seasonings. Finish with fresh basil or parsley if you’d like.
8. Cool and freeze in meal-size portions. I like 2-cup portions because they’re so easy to grab whenever a recipe needs tomato sauce.

There is something awfully satisfying about reaching into the freezer in the middle of winter and pulling out a little taste of last summer’s garden. 🍅🌿❄️

Helene
 Rosemary Thyme 🌿😊
 Fall in Love with Home Again 💛🏠