Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup

 If your garden is full of big, red, ripe & juicy tomatoes this recipe is for you! I had a cup of this yummy soup for lunch at my desk this afternoon and it reminded me of why I love fall. So I snapped a picture and I am sharing the recipe with you.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

5-6  large ripe garden tomatoes, cored and sliced into three slices
1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/2" slices
1 large  jalapeno, cut in half lengthwise, seeded
2  medium bell peppers, seeded, cut into 4 pieces
olive oil
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable  or chicken broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus additional cheese for garnishing)
½ cup of heavy cream 

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 375F. Arrange the tomatoes on a  baking sheet with sides. Place peppers and onions on a separate sheet.  Drizzle olive oil all over. Roast tomatoes  for 20 minutes and veggies for 30.

2.      Take out of oven and let cool. Depending on the size of your blender, combine 1/2 of the tomatoes and juice with veggies in blender and blend till smooth.  Do the same with the second half. Put in a large pot and add the broth and spices.

3.      Heat all together over medium high  heat and add ½ cup of heavy cream

4.       Garnish with Parmesan cheese and croutons. Enjoy

Cantaloupe Pasta

  Cantaloupe Pasta!  I know, you're thinking it sounds too weird to be good, but it has a refreshingly good flavor. Sweet yet spicy, kinda like - but not exactly like the Asian sweet chili sauce you buy in a jar.

I tried this recipe out on a whim for my daughter's birthday dinner because her friends are such good sports when it comes to my experimental cooking. Plus it was supper easy and paired up nicely with the savory salmon.

The  recipe came from the Fred Meyer Sunday paper produce ad.
You never know where you're going to find a fun recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 16 ounce package linguine or spaghetti
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1 Cantaloupe, cubed (the more ripe, the better)
• 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
• 1/2 Cup Half and Half ( I used a little more)
• 1/4 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 3/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1/3 Cup Pumpkin Seeds, shelled and toasted

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta as directed.
2. Heat butter in a skillet. Add melon and saute until it breaks down. Mash with a potato masher if needed, it will still have lumps in it.
3. Add tomato paste, cayenne pepper and salt; cook for 3 more minutes.
4. Add 1/2 cup of half and half, salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
5. Toss with spaghetti, top with pumpkin seeds and serve immediately. 

  

 

Fall Apple Party Favor

APPLES

Thank You party favors!

     Nothing says thank you in the fall  like a fresh, crisp, apple and chocolate or caramel dip. I made 15  of these for my women's ministries leadership team.  Perfect little favors for our pre-retreat information dinner. Our theme this year is JOY, and gray & yellow are our colors.
  I considered making some yummy homemade dip and putting it in cute 1/2 pint mason jars, but they would have needed refrigeration and the thought of 15 of these in my already full fridge wasn't good. So I was thrilled to find individual containers of dip in chocolate/peanut butter and caramel, which enabled me to make these ahead of time.

Step 1.
Assemble needed supplies:
*  Big pretty apples ( I used Gala)
*  Individual dip packets. ( I found these in the peanut butter section and the caramel packets in the produce department.  This option was cheaper then making my own, but I am sure not as tasty :) )
* Ribbon ( 8 inches of the gray and about 14-16inches of the yellow per apple)
*Small glass bowl ( Found at the dollar store 3/$1.00.  Much cheaper then Mason jars)
* Clear plastic favor bags ( Also at the dollar store or cake dept of  Joann fabrics)
* Thank you tags ( Handwritten, but printing off the printer would be easy too!)
* The tags can say anything you like.  Happy Birthday, a name, etc.
* Yellow tissue paper. ( Added just for fun & color)

Step 2

1. Place  bowl, chocolate packet  and tissue in bag.
2. Gently drop in the apple.
3. Tie on the gray ribbon catching the apple stem if you can
4. Tie on the thank you with the yellow ribbon.

Sit back and enJOY

Peach Cobbler & Berry Parfait

Peach & Berry Parfait 
Summer in a Pint Jar!

This peach and berry dessert is a burst of summer! Featuring peaches and berries from nearby farms.
I was craving a peach cobbler but didn't want to heat the kitchen up using the oven and  this was a great alternative.

Update: I've made this fun parfait  a few more times with some variations.  One of the variations was using scones crumbled at the bottom instead of  the Angel food cake. The heartier texture was well received and since scones are pretty easy to whip up it kept me from a trip to the store for Angel food cake.  I know I could make Angel Food cake... but it's always been one of things that seem easier to buy then make.

One more variation is to make these in 1/2 pint jars instead of pint jars. It really is a lot of dessert in the pint jar. But oh so delicious!

Ingredients

Large Angel Food cake
4 large peaches
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tsp corn starch
Instant vanilla pudding
1 3/4 cup  milk
Frozen marionberries or blackberries
Blueberries
Vanilla Ice Cream
Whip Cream
6 pint mason jars

Directions

1. Peel the peaches and cut into bite size pieces
2.  In a sauce pan  combine the cornstarch with the cold water, add the peaches and sugar, cook on low-med heat stirring often until sugar is melted and sauce thickened. (3-5 minutes)
3. Take off heat and let cool.

Peaches simmering

4. Tear the Angel food cake into small pieces and layer on the bottom of 6 Mason jars
5. Next layer the peaches
6. Place some frozen berries ( I used  5) on the top of the peaches ( helps cool down the peaches) :)

Frozen Marionberries

7. Make the pudding using a little less milk then the directions call for and add as the next layer.
8. On top of the pudding layer the fresh  blue berries

9.Cool in the fridge while you make dinner.
10. Add a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream

11.Top with whip cream and a fresh cherry or blueberry and sprig of mint. Or whatever berry is handy!
 Even an editable flower would be cute.

Heavenly deliciousness as the flavors meld together into the perfect summer dessert.
 Fresh peaches always make me smile.
ENJOY!

Terri's Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Yummy cinnamon coffee cake made by my co-worker for a retirement party we hosted yesterday.

I don't normally just love coffee cake, but this cake was moist with just the right amount of cinnamon swirled in the middle. And apparently pretty easy to whip up.

Delicious!

RECIPE

Terri’s  Cinnamon  Coffee Cake

1 yellow cake mix

½ Cup Sugar

1 cup sour cream

¾ cup oil

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

¼ tsp salt

Mix ingredients together and layer three times in Bundt pan, putting cinnamon and brown sugar between each layer of batter.

Cinnamon mixture: 6 Tbl Sugar & 6 tsp Cinnamon.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

Olympic Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

The perfect summer salad for an evening of watching the Olympics. Not only is it red, white and blue, it is medal winning  in flavor with  a refreshingly sweet and tart taste.   I feel like I should apologize for the picture.  Or maybe I should apologize to my family for bringing my phone to the table and annoying them by taking pictures of their food.
I was just thinking it would be a good recipe to share...

RED,WHITE AND BLUE.....Go USA

Chili & Lime Dressing

This dressing is worth making. I just love it. 

6 Tbsp low fat mayonnaise

 3 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, finely chopped   

3 Tbsp water

1 medium  or 2 small scallion(s), minced   

2 Tbsp fresh  squeezed lime juice   ( 1 lime)

2 tsp sugar  

 1/2 tsp chili powder

Mix the above ingredients well.

Olympic Salad

Small bunch of spinach torn into bite size pieces

1 head  of  Romaine Lettuce Chopped

1 Cup of fresh blueberries

1 can white beans ( cannellini or Great Northern)

1/3 cup cranraisens 

Feta Cheese

Tomato - optional  ( I had a few slices left over from the other parts of dinner to use up) 

MIX the above and toss with dressing.  

Some info I thought you might enjoy.

Cannellini beans are large and have that traditional kidney shape. With a slightly nutty taste and mild earthiness, they have a relatively thin skin and tender, creamy flesh. They hold their shape well and are one of the best white beans for salads and ragouts.

Great Northern beans are smaller than cannellinis and and suitable for any number of uses: salads, soups, stews, ragouts, purees. Their texture is slightly grainy, with a nutty, dense flavor. Popular in North America, Great Northerns look like white baby lima beans.

What?  You want to see a picture of another dinner item?

Turkey burger ( made with garlic and basil) topped with a tomato slice, feta cheese (light broiled) & more basil.

Fruity Chicken & Gorgonzola Salad

Fruity Chicken & Gorgonzola Salad

Enjoy these long  hot days with some of the best things summer has to offer - tomatoes and cantalope. The protein of the chicken makes this salad a complete meal in one dish.  I love the sweetness of the fruit combined with the saltiness of the Gorgonzola.

Fruity Chicken and Gorgonzola Salad 

Ingredients

Romaine lettuce

Cantaloupe

Tomato

Chicken salad

 Chicken Salad Recipe

2 Large chicken breast - baked and chopped

1/2 Cup of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/3 Cup walnuts  roughly chopped 

 20 -24 red grapes halved

1/2 low fat or regular  mayo

2 -TBL   fresh chopped basil ( or parsley would work)

1 - TBL  Milk

 Salt & Pepper to taste.  I find the Gorgonzola adds enough salt. 

Mix the above  till thoroughly combined

Directions

In a large bowl combine:

 2 cups chopped romaine

1/4 of cantaloup chop into bite size pieces

About  1/2  large tomato chopped into bite size pieces

 Add  chicken salad to mixture and toss well.  If needed add a little bit of milk to chicken salad to moisten and help it incorporate into salad.  

Perfect Yumminess

 ENJOY!