Product Review: Review of Taste of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce

(Originally Published at Yahoo.Voices formerly Associated Content~5/3/2012)

ABSTRACT: Despite being labeled a "Pizza" Sauce, Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce can be used in a truly versatile manner for a variety of recipe dishes.

CONTENT: I recently had the wonderful good and great fortune of being sent a variety of jars of pasta sauces. This came about after I shared my product review article that I wrote here of Vito Marcello's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce with none other than Vita Marcello himself on his Facebook page. He loved my article so much that he decided to send me four jars of different pasta sauces to me, of which this product review of Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce is just one. UPDATE: My article review of Vito Marcello's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce can now be found HERE

I have to admit when it came to choosing which pasta sauce Mr. Marcello sent me first I was a bit stymied, as they all sounded delicious, but finally decided on trying the 16 Oz. jar of Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce first. Despite the name of being a "pizza sauce" I found it was versatile to use it in a number of different ways and I managed to whip up three different meals from it.

Now before I share my own recipes on how I used this sauce, let me share the ingredients of which are all natural and consists of: Tomatoes, Water, Onions, Pecorino Romano Cheese, Garlic, Canola Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, White Pepper, Parsley, Basil, and Rosemary.

The complete Nutrition Facts of Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce are as follows: One Serving Size which is 1/4 cup has 25 Calories, Calories from Fat 10, Total Fat is 1 gram, Saturated Fat 0 grams, Trans Fat 0 grams, Cholesterol 0 Mg, Sodium 160 grams, Total Carbohydrates 3 grams, Dietary Fiber less than 1 gram, Sugar 2 grams. Bottom line, this sauce is wonderfully low in calories, fat, carbohydrates, sodium and sugar, and therefore perfect for anyone's dietary needs.

Now for the good part, that is, how I used this sauce. The first meal I made using this sauce was my version of Spanish Rice. I'll try to give as precise measurements of all the ingredients, but as they say, good cooks don't measure and I've been cooking a long time, so measurements are approximate.

My own Spanish Rice dish:

2 or 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 small onion chopped
1 or 2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup uncooked white rice
approximately 3/4 cup of Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce
2 cups water
1 cup precooked Chicken breast cut into cubes**
1/2 cup Cooked Kidney Beans***
Optional:
One plum tomato sliced and diced
Half of one large green bell pepper, seeds removed, sliced and diced

In large skillet, heat Olive Oil over medium heat and add the chopped onions and minced garlic and sauté for a few minutes, add uncooked rice and continue to stir until rice is slightly browned. Add the Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce and stir again, then add the 2 cups of water and again stir to blend. Finally add the cubed Chicken Breast and Kidney Beans, diced tomato and green pepper if used, stir once more, reduce heat to low and cover. Let simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking for approximately 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.

My version of Spanish rice can a great one dish meal (with chicken added) and can provide 2 healthy servings.
**This is also a great as a side dish with chicken if the chicken is omitted in the rice, and can serve up to four people.
***If you wish to have this as a more vegetarian type one dish--again omit the chicken and instead of only 1/2 cup cooked Kidney Beans, can add 3/4 of a cup beans instead. 2 Servings.

Now for my second recipe using Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce:

Homemade Tuna Fish Cakes "Parmesan"

Two 5 Oz. Cans of Solid White Albacore Tuna (brand of your choice)
--drained of water or oil and rinsed under cold water in a strainer
One egg
approximately 1 cup flavored/seasoned breadcrumbs of your choice of brand ( I use 4-C)
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
approximately 1 cup of Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce
Grated and/or shredded cheese of your choice: either Parmesan, Muenster or Mozzarella OR a bit of a blending of all if you wish

In a medium sized mixing bowl add the tuna and crumble up until tuna is in smaller pieces. Add egg and blend with hands. Pour breadcrumbs onto a plate, and take one-quarter of the tuna/egg mixture and form into a pattie or "fishcake" then place in breadcrumbs to give a coating of the breadcrumbs. One should have four patties.

Add the 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil into a large skillet and place the tuna fishcakes into skillet, allowing to brown for a few minutes, turn patties over to brown on the other side. Remove from heat.

Lightly grease a square or round 8" cake type pan and place fishcakes into pan. Pour enough of the Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce on top of each fishcake to cover each one. On top of each fishcake then add the cheese or blend of cheeses of your choice, the exact amount is up to individual taste, but at least 1/4 of a cup. Place in a pre-heated oven at 350º degrees and let bake at least 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.
Servings 4

Suggested side dishes: Pasta of your choice either spaghetti, rotini, or linguine; or mashed potatoes plus other vegetable of your choice

Well, now I had a dilemma on my hands! Most of the Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce was nearly gone and not enough to make a full meal out of, ah, but being rather creative and not wanting the sauce to go to waste I came up with a solution and used the last of the sauce for how it was meant to be used...yes pizza!

English Muffin Pizza:

I was having a case of the late night snack attacks and wanted something to eat but didn't know what and then the idea came to me to have English Muffin Pizza! The recipe is very simple. Just take one English Muffin and slice in half if not already pre-sliced. I added the very last remaining Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce equally on each half...about 1/4 cup each. Add approximately 1/4 cup of grated or shredded cheese of choice...I had shredded Muenster cheese at the time. In a pre-heated oven of 350º "bake" until cheese is bubbly and melted. How simple, right? And so delicious!
One serving.

From my recipes, you can see how wonderfully versatile Taste Of Inspirations Neapolitan Pizza Sauce really is. Now the "bad" news. You may discover that this brand of pasta sauce is hard to find in your own supermarket. According to the Vito Marcello website, one will most likely find it at a Stop and Shop, Hannaford, Giant or Market Basket supermarket or one can order directly via the Hannaford website itself and costs $3.49 per 16 Oz. jar (plus shipping charges). It's well worth ordering this sauce however, since as I discovered this rich and hearty sauce allowed me to create some really diverse and great meals. Just think of the possibilities you can come up with. It's a winner in my book!

Sources:

Life

To Order:
Hannaford website

For more information about Vito Marcello:
Vito Marcello website

Product Review: Review of Vito Marcello's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce

(Originally Published at Yahoo.Voices formerly Associated Content~3/12/2012)

ABSTRACT: Review of Vito Marcello's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce is a delightful all natural blend of chunks of tomatoes in a thick tomato pureé with a hearty burst of basil flavor.

CONTENT: I have to admit I love using tomato-based pasta sauces in many of my cooking endeavors, whether I'm making my Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Parmesan, giving an additional tomato zest and flavor to my homemade beef stews, to simple pasta dishes. Rather than always sticking to the old tried and true well-known brands of pasta sauces such as Ragu or Prego, I'm always on the look-out to try brands of pasta sauce I'm not too familiar with. Recently I had the opportunity to try a brand of pasta sauce that just happened to be a new featured item of the week that was available in my local Duane Reade store.

I have to confess I never heard of the Vito Marcello brand before, but since I was planning to make my homemade Chicken Parmesan that night, I needed some kind of pasta sauce and decided to take a chance and I bought the 24 ounce jar of the Vito Marcello's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce at a cost of $4.99. Being an avid reader of labels, I was impressed by the fact that the sauce had no preservatives in it and had all natural ingredients consisting of: blended tomatoes, imported Italian Plum tomatoes, Sweet Onions, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Natural Flavorings, Fresh Roasted Garlic, Salt, Pepper, a blend of Vito Marcello's special House Spices, and of course, the Basil itself.

Once home I began fixing my planned dinner and came the taste test itself. Upon opening the jar, I stirred it up a bit and saw that there were chunks of the plum tomatoes in a thick tomato pureé and I was very aware of seeing the basil itself, and no wonder it's called "basil" marinara sauce, for indeed there was a delightful burst and taste of the basil. One thing I found rather surprising however, was the fact that the sauce didn't have an overwhelming salty taste to it the way other pasta sauces may have. According to the Nutrition Facts on the label, one serving size, which is 1/2 cup has only 170 mg. of sodium, which is way below the usual 300 mgs. or more found in most other pasta sauces and ideal for anyone on a low sodium diet. I'm fortunate that I'm not on any kind of sodium restricted diet, however, I really don't care for overly salty foods myself and never add salt to my own cooking, so this made for an ideal pasta sauce.

Being curious about the Vito Marcello brand in general, I discovered that there is a website that lists other brands of his Pasta Sauces, which includes his Fra Diavolo Sauce, Puttanesca Sauce, Roasted Garlic & Eggplant, Sunday Sauce and Vodka Sauce, as well as his Classic Creamy Italian Dressing. As an added bonus on the website one can watch YouTube videos of Vito Marcello preparing some of his favorite dishes as well as the ability to download some of his recipes in PDF format. For those wanting a little background and history of the Marcello family in general, one can read how they got their start back in 1927 with their Marcello's Family Restaurant in Rhode Island and then later moving in 1988 and began Bellini's Restaurant in Conway, New Hampshire. The information on the website also indicates however, that the Vito Marcello's brand of sauces are unfortunately only available in the northeastern section of the USA, however, one can order directly on-line if one so wishes, and I just might do that, since the one downside is that the Duane Reade store that I bought the jar of pasta sauce only has the one flavor of Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce.

As for my planned dinner that night? Well all I can say is that my Chicken Parmesan which I served it with a side dish of linguine was a hit that night and I couldn't wait to use the sauce for my other recipes calling for tomato pasta sauce. On a scale of one to ten I would rate this sauce a sure winner ten!

The complete Nutrition Facts of Vito Marcello's Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce are as follows: One Serving Size which is 1/2 cup has 90 Calories, 25% Calories from Fat, Total Fat is 3 grams, 0 grams Saturated Fat, 0 grams Trans Fat, 0 Mg Cholesterol, 170 grams of Sodium, 13 grams of Total Carbohydrates which includes 4 grams of Dietary Fiber and 11 grams of Sugar.

Sources:

Life

Vito Marcello's Website:
Vito Marcello