Stuffed Portabellas

This is a great recipe that is very adaptable to your tastes and creativity!  If you don't want to make homemade bruschetta (see my recipe here), try the pre-made mix from Trader Joe's.

2 large portabella mushrooms
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup raw spinach, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup bruschetta
1/3 cup mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste



Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove stems from mushrooms and brush with a dry cloth to clean.  In a frying pan, saute spinach with garlic and a bit of olive oil.  Once spinach is wilted, transfer to a bowl and mix in the ricotta cheese, salt and pepper.  Lay mushroom caps upside down on a baking sheet and fill with cheese/spinach mixture.  Top with bruschetta and mozzarella.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Guacamole

I LOVE guacamole!  Until about a year ago, we used to make it with the store-bought seasoning packets when I finally realized it wouldn't be that hard to make it from scratch.  After experimenting for a while, this has become our winner recipe.

• 3 avocados
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 small tomato, diced (optional)

Peel and remove pits from the avocados, saving one of the pits.  Mash avocados in a bowl until there are no large chunks left.  I usually use a potato masher or a fork.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Place the pit in the bowl with the guacamole and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.  The pit will help keep the guacamole from browning as quickly.

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is one of my favorite appetizers to order and I'm amazed I've never tried making it at home until now.  I read a variety of recipes before deciding how I wanted to make it and let me tell you there are some opinions on making Bruschetta! Apparently, some feel strongly about everything from how you pronounce it (Brushetta or Brusketta) to the bread you use to whether you mix the garlic in with the tomatoes or rub it onto the bread.  I say do whatever fits your taste!  I really enjoy the flavor of garlic so I mixed my garlic into the tomato mixture but if you want a lighter touch of garlic you can simply rub a clove or two on the toast while it is still hot so it melts into the bread.

Normally, I would have made this with Roma tomatoes but I was enticed by the beautiful color of the Kumatos at the grocery store and decided to try those this time.  I toasted some fresh homemade bread that my husband made.  It was wider than most baguettes or French loaves and we used 10 slices so if you use a skinny loaf you'll probably need closer to 15 slices. I also like to really load on the tomatoes so if you like less topping then you'll need more toast slices.

• 5 small tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of black pepper
• 10-15 slices of baguette, French or Italian bread

Chop tomatoes and place in a mixing bowl.  Combine tomatoes with minced garlic, basil, olive oil, red wine vinegar, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Slice 10-15 pieces of bread (15 if your loaf is narrow, 10 if your loaf is wide).  If desired, brush lightly with olive oil or melted butter. Toast for a few minutes in the oven. Remove toast from oven and top with tomato mixture.

Stuffed Tomatoes

These were a bit tricky, but really tasty!  I modified a recipe my friend pinned on Pinterest: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/511633 to make it simpler.  The hard part for me was scooping the pulp out of the tomatoes without destroying them.  I think I'll try using a grapefruit spoon next time to see if the serrated edges help.

Tomatoes
2 large beefsteak tomatoes
Olive oil
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
3-4 cups fresh chopped spinach
1 clove garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
pinch of thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Dressing
Pulp reserved from tomatoes
3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard*
Pinch of basil

*Gluten free dieters: make sure your mustard doesn't contain gluten!

Remove tomato stems and blanch tomatoes by boiling them in hot water for 1 minute.  Then place them in a bowl of ice water and set aside.  This step will make it much easier to peel the tomatoes later on. In a frying pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Add chopped mushrooms and spinach and cook 3-5 minutes until spinach is wilted and mushrooms are tender.  Add garlic, lemon juice, thyme, salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.  While the mushroom/spinach mixture cools, remove the tomatoes from the bowl of ice water.  Peel skin off of the tomatoes.  Cut off the top of the tomatoes about 1/3 of the way from the top.  Carefully scoop tomato pulp and seeds out of each tomato and reserve pulp in a separate bowl for the dressing.  Now that the mushroom/spinach mixture has cooled some, add ricotta and parmesan cheese and mix well--reserving a small bit of the parmesan for later.  Fill the tomato bottoms with the cheese/mushroom/spinach mixture.  Press the tomato tops back on the stuffed tomatoes and sprinkle tops with the remaining parmesan.  Grease a baking dish with olive oil and place the tomatoes in the greased dish.  Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees.  While the tomatoes bake, whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  Remove tomatoes from the oven when the cheese mixture looks melted.  Serve hot with dressing drizzled over the tomatoes.

Creamy Tomato Soup

We've been wanting to try homemade tomato soup for a while. I got hooked on Trader Joe's tomato soup last year because it was so much yummier than the can. Craig found a great recipe from King Arthur Flour and I made a few small changes.  This was so simple and inexpensive that I think I have a new favorite! You can read the King Arthur recipe here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/creamy-tomato-soup-recipe.  It makes about 4 bowl-sized servings.  It is definitely a creamy tomato so if that isn't your thing you can use less of the evaporated milk.

1 28-oz can tomato purée

1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp onion powder or minced onion

dash of thyme
dash of black pepper
3 Tbsp flour*
a scant 2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar
1 12-oz can evaporated milk
1 tsp salt

*Gluten free dieters: substitute cornstarch for the flour.

In a large saucepan, combine the tomatoes, basil, onion, thyme, and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes.  In a small bowl, combine the flour and broth, whisking till smooth, and add this mixture to the soup, stirring until well incorporated. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the baking soda (the soup will foam up briefly; don't worry, but be sure it's in a big enough pot), the sugar, the milk and the salt. Heat, stirring, to a bare simmer. Serve hot. Serves 4.

Salsa

I love chips and salsa. Who doesn't? In an effort to try and get some of that freshness that salsa always seems to have in the restaurants, I decided to try making my own and it's become a regular in our home. It's super quick to make, and it's pretty easy to keep the ingredients on hand. I will warn you that the quality of tomatoes you use makes a difference in the flavor. I tried to get away with buying the value brand and we could definitely tell the difference. Now I just watch for when the better brands are on sale and stock up. I make this in the blender, but I'm sure a food processor would work well (we just don't have one). I would rank this as medium in spiciness but you could certainly make it more mild by leaving out the tabasco or add some jalapenos to make it hotter.  Fresh cilantro makes it better too, I just don't always have it on hand.

1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
1 can Rotel (or any brand tomatoes with green chiles)
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 heaping tsp dried cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp minced garlic
few splashes of tabasco

Blend briefly to mix well, but don't over blend or it will liquefy too much. *Gluten free dieters: make sure your spices do not contain gluten.

Mom's Pumpkin Bread

This bread is a Thanksgiving tradition in our house!

Mix ingredients in a large mixing bowl in the following order:

• 6 eggs
• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups oil
• 1 large can Libby's pumpkin pie mix
• 1 Tbsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 5 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare bread pans with butter and flour. Pour batter into pans until half full. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Recipe yields 4-6 loaves of bread (depending on the size pan you use). Decrease baking time by about 30 minutes if you are making muffins.

Black Bean Corn Salsa

This is a salsa recipe I created after browsing through several similar recipes online. I only add a small amount of onions and peppers for those of us in my family who can't eat much of them, but it's still enough to give it some flavor. :)  I'd suggest adding more.

Combine the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

• 1/4 green pepper, chopped
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 pearl onion, chopped
• 1 large tomato, diced

Combine the following ingredients in a small bowl. Then add to vegetables and mix well. Serve with tortilla chips.

• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp tabasco
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic