More ideas and photos too

Create a pizza with your tomato sauce as a base and load with meatballs and whatever else takes your fancy – don't forget to treat yourself to a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan as well as the traditional mozzarella.

You could go the obvious route of spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs – traditional is good!

For the ultimate slob, why not a sub sandwich with the tomato sauce, meatballs then add veggies and cheese of your choice.

One thing is certain your sauce and meatballs give you flexible working week supper ideas and the cherry on top of the cake – all you have to do is pull the sauce and the meatballs from your treasure chest.

Here are the sauce photos :

Onions, garlic and spices in the pan with tomato paste

The sauce at the beginning of the cook

Check out the depth of colour at the end

What's not to love!

Little or Large?

Another thought held.

Whether you are wanting a meal for one or feeding your family the tomato sauce comes into its own and ticks all the boxes.

If you remember the It's Friday evening ...is it a burger blog it gives you the basic burger recipe which, in turn, doubles as meatballs too! You'll get approximately 25-30 meatballs from that recipe. I make them the size of a walnut – if you'd like measurements - 30x30 millimetres. You don't have to give yourself a hard time being exact – measure one then gauge the rest.

Freeze the meatballs in varying amounts according to size of appetites but do yourself a favour and bear in mind whether freezing a meal for one or for the family.

If you want speed and a veggie alternative to go with your veggie tomato sauce try Quorn Swedish Style Meals a 300g bag serves 4 – there are actually 18 in a bag – a strange number to serve 4.

So far so good.

More ideas and photos coming up.

The LSG tomato sauce

Some while back I asked you to “hold another thought” - I'm so sorry for the delay – you must be going blue by now!

You'll find this sauce invaluable – it lends itself to so many recipes – a perfect addition to your working week suppers list.

As with the curry sauce it is probably not convenient to make it when you're multitasking on a Sunday. It is not a complicated or challenging recipe but well worth the time it takes.

Here goes :

Tomato Sauce

500g passata

1 medium onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of roasted garlic or crushed fresh garlic

1 tbsp of rapeseed oil

knob of butter – 25g

1 tbsp of tomato paste

250g of vegetable stock

a generous sprinkle of oregano

black pepper to taste

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp of salt, to taste

Melt the oil and butter in a medium size saucepan (21cms/8” in diameter), add the onion and soften gently – 4-5 minutes, then add the garlic. Add the oregano and black pepper. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes. It's important that you cook the paste – if you don't it will be bitter and taste horrible! Add the passata, stock and then the sugar. The sugar is meant to balance out the acidity that one sometimes gets with tomatoes. Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken. Taste the sauce before you add any salt – it's a matter of personal taste. The flavours in your sauce will develop and so will benefit from being made a couple of days ahead and fridged.

The sauce freezes well, bear in mind the size of portions – whatever suits you – smaller is more practical, you can always take out two – no waste.

You'll get 670g of sauce from the recipe.

Hold yet another thought!

Rubble – the bonus

Now for the trimmed ends and the bits of Rubble and crumb.

Take a look :

the large and the small bits

You'll also get :

the fine crumb

Here's the thing – it doesn't matter what size the Rubble is there's a use for it. Choose your favourite size of Rubble and sprinkle it over ice cream with seasonal fresh fruit.

Are you thinking of serving a cheesecake anytime soon – sprinkle the larger pieces of crumb over the top.

If you're planning an ice cream treat of an old fashioned cornet - decorate with the fine sprinkles.

Are you making biscuits for the holidays – add the crumb to your mixture or use to decorate the tops.

If you'd like additional inspiration, check out a series Easter Emergencies A Hodgepodge – Take 2 and Hodgepodge again in April 2017.

Create a secret stash for yourself and freeze – preferably in different sizes but it's not the end of the world if you throw all of it into the same freezer bag.

Enjoy the holiday!

Rubble – step by step photo guide

a bowlful of glistening fruit and nuts

an important addition

ready to fridge!

using the photo above, with the long side of

the tray towards you, cut it in half and then into

six vertical pieces, set the other half aside. Trim the

uneven side and set aside.

turn three pieces lengthways and cut in half, then

in half again until you have 24 pieces – repeat with

the remaining 3 lengths – 48 pieces. Repeat with the set

aside half giving you 96 pieces in total.

here it is

The Rubble bonus up next.

Rubble – the plus points and the bonus

White chocolate is popular with the kids – it's not for the chocolate purists but, in this instance if you want to encourage the kids to eat fruit and nuts, it works.

I describe this treat as a sort of tutti frutti – by that I mean the Italian ice cream but using chocolate instead - not the bagged confectionery. Another useless piece of information – tutti-frutti means “all fruits”. Tutti-frutti has morphed into all sorts of different variations, depending which country you're in.

Another plus is only 40% of the treat is chocolate, the remaining 60% is fruit and nuts.

I would definitely recommend toasting the chopped pecans with the sea salt flakes, white chocolate is sweet and the slight saltiness of the toasted pecans helps balance that sweetness.

Cut into cubes, you'll get 96 pieces from your batch!

Given the success of the Rocky Road I have discovered that personal is special. Pretty bags or boxes are inexpensive – check out the cheaper High Street shops – the Rubble cubes fit into the eggs for the hunt – just like this :

Step by step photo guide is up next.

Rubble - an Easter treat

I know we're in the middle of sauces to help you with your working week suppers (“wws”) but Easter is nearly upon us and so I thought I'd give you an idea or two, just for fun!

I can't say I've ever been one for giving home-made gifts but I reminded myself of the reaction to my Rocky Road fest at Christmas and how the sweet treat was received.

With that in mind, here's my Easter chocolate contribution – home-made and definitely chocolate!

The following treat I call Rubble because I always get fragments of varying sizes that remind me of gravel and small stones. It sounds strange but bear with me, you'll see what I mean in the photo guide.

Here's the recipe :

Rubble

500g white chocolate

35g Rice Krispies

160g sultanas

140g pecans, roasted and

chopped coarsely

160g dried apricots

130g dried cranberries

105g pistachios, roasted and

chopped coarsely

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Melt the chocolate in a large bowl over simmering water ensuring the water does not touch the bowl. When the chocolate has melted fold in the remaining ingredients thoroughly so that the chocolate coats well and tip into a tray bake – size 32 x 9 cms approx. “Fridge” it for 2 hours.

If you want to add an extra level of flavour, before you begin, heat a small knob of unsalted butter (20g) in a frying pan, when it foams add the chopped pecans with a large pinch of sea salt flakes. Stir over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until toasted – you'll smell them when they are ready. Tip onto a baking sheet to cool.

Coming next … the plus points and the bonus.