Mandarin Sauce

I got this recipe a few years ago when I was on the committee to plan a church dinner. We served ham, and one of the other committee members contributed the recipe for this sauce. I stored the recipe away for a few years until one Sunday when we discovered that the particular brand of spiral sliced ham that I had prepared didn't come with a seasoning packet. I quickly found the recipe and whipped it up; we haven't used seasoning packets since.

This sauce has a number of alternate uses. It's great on chicken nuggets for a quick kids meal. Since the recipe makes quite a bit more than we ever eat as a ham sauce in a single meal, we also often make a quick meal a few days later by adding some stir fried chicken, pineapple chunks, green pepper and onions for sweet and sour chicken. It's great served over white or fried rice.

Mandarin Sauce
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup crushed pineapple (juice and all)
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ginger
Dash red cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon corn starch
1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients except water and cornstarch in a blender and puree until liquified. Transfer to a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then let simmer for 20 minutes.  Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and add to the sauce; bring to a boil and cook until it thickens, about five minutes.