Tomato Basil Soup

After the last not-so-good tomato soup I made, Lindy shared this recipe with me. It did not disappoint! It tastes so good. She got it from allrecipes.com. I have made a few changes from that recipe to be lower fat. The original called for 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup butter. That was too much for me, and this version was tasty.

From Lindy

Makes 4 large bowls of soup

4 tomatoes – peeled, seeded and diced

4 cups tomato juice

14 fresh basil leaves

½ cup cream

½ cup milk

2 Tbs butter

½ tsp salt

pepper to taste

Place tomatoes and juice in pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves and return to pot. Stir in the milk, cream, butter, salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not let it boil.

Note: I didn't really see the advantage of the fresh tomatoes because you cook them anyway. I think that next time I make this I will just use 5 cups of tomato juice, delete the 4 tomatoes and skip the simmer 30 minutes step. I believe it would turn out just as good and would be much quicker to make.

Also - I serve this with toasted cheese sandwiches and call it a meal. I also served fresh strawberries with it last night.

Roasted Potatoes

3 medium potatoes (scrubbed and cut into bite sized pieces)

1 bell pepper (cut into bite sized pieces)

10 asparagus stalks (cut the bottom inch off and discard, cut the rest into 2 inch pieces)

1 cup cubed butternut squash

Place all ingredients in a casserole dish or 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle 1 Tbs olive oil over vegetables and stir to coat. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Bake uncovered for 45 – 60 min at 375°.

Other vegetables could be used: corn, carrots, onions, whatever you have.

Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil

From Brian and Sarah Matthews

Serves about 4

2 cups dry pasta (I used garden delight Penne)

1 lb. cherry tomatoes (about 30)

1 tsp. olive oil

½ cup chopped fresh basil

½ tsp granulated garlic (or fresh)

8 oz. fresh mozzarella (Ciliegine is in little balls and I like it best)

½ tsp. garlic salt

Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, chop the tomatoes in half. In fry pan heat olive oil and add 15 halved tomatoes and garlic. (Save the rest of the tomatoes to add later.) Heat for about 5 minutes and smash the tomatoes a little. This makes a sort of sauce.

When pasta is finished cooking, drain, put in serving bowl and add the rest of the ingredients stirring in the cooked tomatoes last. This melts the cheese a tiny bit. Serve hot.

Saute half the tomatoes

Fresh basil from the garden

Save half the tomatoes to add fresh

I first had this at Brian and Sarah's and I'm not sure if I make it the same as them. It was a while before I tried it on my own.

We had it last night and everyone loved it. Marilyn and McKay don't usually like cooked tomatoes, but they really like this pasta.

It is a wonderful light summer dish.

Corn off the Cob

When there is left over corn on the cob, just cut it off the cob and serve it for a side the next day.

Here is one way to do it:
Cut the corn off the cob, slice a zucchini, chop 1/2 bell pepper and 1/4 an onion.
Heat 1/2 tsp butter in a fry pan and add the vegetables. Stir on medium high heat for 4 - 5 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste. It only takes a little butter for lots of really good flavor.

Melon Salad

So many melons on sale this week. Here is what I made.

Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Honeydew
Mango

Cut them into small pieces, mix and serve. It makes a big salad and this is such a good snack also. Guilt free goodness!

Parmesan Rolls

Makes 12 rolls
1/2 batch roll dough (half white and half wheat flour)
2 Tbs Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs melted butter
2 Tbs raw sunflower seeds

Roll out one half of the dough into about a 12 inch circle. Brush melted butter on, then sprinkle cheese and sunflower seeds. Cut into 12 triangles with pizza cutter. Roll into rolls.
Place on cookie sheet. Let rise 1 hour, then bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Cut into 12 pieces

Roll up

I only used 1/2 the dough so I made cinnamon rolls with the rest.

Cornbread

From Boarding the Ark Today

This is not exactly what their recipe says, it is what I really did.

½ cup yellow cornmeal

½ cup whole wheat or white flour

1 Tbs. honey or sugar

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ cup milk (or 1 Tbs milk powder and ½ cup water, or ½ cup canned milk)

1 egg

1 Tbs oil

1 Tbs applesauce, optional

Mix cornmeal, flour, honey, salt and baking powder. If using powdered milk add powder with dry ingredients. Whisk in milk, egg, oil and applesauce just until smooth. Fill muffin papers about half full.

Tip: Applesauce keeps cornbread moist.

Note: I left out the oil and put 2 Tbs applesauce.

Bake 400° for 10 min. Makes 10 muffins.

Brown Gravy

2 Tbs. butter

2 cubes beef bouillon

2 Tbs. flour

2 cups cold water

Melt butter in sauce pan. Add bouillon cubes, smash them and stir them in. When the bouillon cubes get into the butter, they will soften enough to smash down.

Shake flour and water in a shaker until there are no lumps, then stir into butter and bouillon mixture. Stir over medium heat until slightly thickened. Serve hot.

Strawberries and Cream

Last night for dinner I opened some cream for the chicken alfredo and had some left over, so I washed and cut into bite size pieces a quart of strawberries and then added 1 Tbs sugar, 1/4 tsp. almond flavoring and
2 Tbs cream. Stir it up and serve. This was really good!

Creamed Peas and Potatoes

This is one of McKay's all time favorites. Grandma Jane Matthews made this with fresh peas and new potatoes from her garden.

1 pound red potatoes
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk (you can substitute 1/2 cup cream for part of the milk if desired)

Scrub potatoes and cut into bite sized pieces (leave skin on). Cook in saucepan with 2 cups water until soft. Drain water and add butter; stir until melted. In a shaker jar, combine flour and milk. Add to pan with butter and potatoes. Keep cooking on medium high heat and stir until sauce thickens a little. Add peas and salt. Keep on heat until peas are warm, then serve.

Fruit Salad

For side dishes I like to use what ever fruit is on sale that week. This week it is strawberries and mangoes, so I served them together. See how to chop a mango. A banana would be good with it, but Marilyn is not a banana lover so I left it out. Don't be afraid to try new mixtures. The important thing is to cut the fruit into bite sized pieces.

Asparagus

Wash asparagus and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. I usually only use about half a bundle. Put 1/2 tsp butter in fry pan and add asparagus. Cook on medium heat for about 5 - 7 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the bottom from burning. Salt and pepper and serve.

I put this now because asparagus is inexpensive to buy right now. Pick some up and enjoy it.

Asparagus with red bell pepper

Potatoes and Peas

Such a simple side dish.
1/2 tsp butter
2 potatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas

Melt 1/2 tsp butter in fry pan. It only takes a little for a wonderful flavor. I used leftover baked potatoes, but if you don't have a leftover, just scrub and microwave potatoes on high for 3 minutes. Cut into bite sized pieces (leave skin on) and put in fry pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add peas until warm. Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Baked Beans

From Grandma Jane Matthews

2 cans pork and beans

¼ cup brown sugar (Grandma's original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but we like it better with 1/4)

½  cup ketchup

5 strips cooked bacon (cut into small pieces) or 1/4 cup bacon bits

½  tsp. dry mustard

Mix all ingredients in casserole dish. Bake at 325 for 30 min.

Mango Salsa

1 mango (chopped)

1 bell pepper (chopped)

½ bunch cilantro (chopped)

¼ c green onion (chopped)

1 hot green chili (or 1/8 tsp red pepper)

1 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs. lime juice

1 Tbs. vinegar

¼ tsp. salt

Mix and serve. 

How to chop a mango:

Mango should be soft enough to give a little when squeezed. That is when it is ripe. You can't tell by color.

Peel mango with knife, then make slices toward the pit horizontally and vertically. Then cut the sliced sections away from the pit.

Cashew Rice

Makes 6 servings

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups hot cooked rice (1 1/2 cups dry rice) (you can add chicken bullion to cooking water for more flavor if desired)

½ cup raw cashew nuts

1 tsp curry powder 

½ tsp salt

Directions:

Start the rice cooking, then while it cooks do the following. Cook onion in oil in large skillet over medium heat until tender but not brown. Add cashews and cook for 1 minute. Add cooked rice, curry powder, and salt.  Toss lightly and serve.


Another option:
Add 1/2 cup chopped celery with the onion and leave out the curry. A very different dish, but good. I tried it tonight. Yummy.

You can add cooked chicken pieces to this if desired or serve as a side dish with chicken or fish as the main dish.

Some personal notes:

I like brown rice, Marilyn prefers white, so I mix them. Brown rice needs to cook longer and this is how I do it:

In saucepan put 3/4 cup brown rice, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 cups water. Bring to boil. Turn heat to low and cover. Cook for 40 min.  Add 3/4 cup white rice and 1 1/2 cups water. Stir together with brown rice. Cover and cook for 20 minutes more. 

This should make a little more than 3 cups cooked rice. With the extra, put some cinnamon, sugar, vanilla and canned milk on it for dessert or breakfast.