Homemade "No"mato Sauce

If you read at my other blog you'll know that our family is an adventure in cuisine- The Elimation Diet. We are searching for some answers and are eliminating 11 food allergen groups from our diet for a while. Sure, we miss the sugar and flour and dairy. What we really miss, though, is sauce- tomato sauce. There is a Nomato sauce out on the market, but the amount I would need for one meal would cost a small fortune. So after some research, I've come up with my own version. We've already enjoyed it in chili. Seriously, it really tastes like tomatoes.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Cost: Approx. $11
Yield: 12-15 cups

1/2 cup olive oil
3 onions finely diced ($.25)
3 Tbsp minced garlic
juice of one lemon
3 Tbsp balsamic vineager
6 cups pureed pumpkin/squash ($6)
3 cups pureed canned beets ($1.50)
3 tsp coarse salt
3-6 cups chicken broth ($3)

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add lemon juice and vinegar. Cook for 5 minutes.

Puree beets and squash.


Add puree to onion mixture. Mix in broth and salt until desired texture is reached. Heat through.

I kept my sauce a little thick and froze it in 3 cup portions. Once thawed, I'll just add more chicken broth as needed.

We are so looking forward to more chili and some spaghetti in the coming weeks!

**Since I no longer have any pumpkin puree left, I scoured the stores looking for canned pumpkin. It is nowhere to be found and no one knows when there will be more. Perhaps the pumpkin shortage wasn't and urban myth. Has anyone else had this problem?**