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Tomato Basil Pizza

Tomato Basil Pizza
The other day, I was looking at the overload of tomatoes that I bought as the season was winding down as the end of summer nears. But I realized that I was being gradually shoved out of my small kitchen by them, so I oven-roasted the louts with garlic and herbs to reclaim a few precious inches back of kitchen counter space. Yet when they were finished, I looked in my refrigerator, and there wasn’t any room in there either. So I was left holding a bowl of roasted tomatoes that needed to get used up. Coincidentally, I also had a round of yeasted dough in my refrigerator from a batch of recipe testing that hadn’t found its meaning as something else yet—as experimental leftovers are want to do. I’ve oven-roasted plenty of tomatoes in my lifetime, especially when I need to pull and extract as much flavor as I can from less-than-exemplary specimens. Basically, you just take some tomatoes, toss them in a splash of olive oil, some herbs, and sliced up garlic. (I know, I know. Chewswise Pesto

Caprese Baked Egg Cups I learned five things yesterday. 1. Having a cocktail after making a freakishly giant mess in the kitchen helps calm the stress of cleaning up AND makes it go faster… or just makes you forget how long it takes? 2. 3. iChatting with loved ones in another state after a big cocktail (oops I know… I left out the part about how big it was in #1) is awesome. 4. 5. Geez. All hangovers and unrealistic, dreamy 2002 relationships aside, these baked eggs are where it’s at. Well, I totally thought that and I was totally wrong. Caprese Baked Egg Cups makes 4 cups [2 x 3 1/2 in ramekins] 4 or 8 eggs (depending on if you want 1 or 2) 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved 3-4 ounces mozzarella cheese, chopped (I used marinated mozz from Trader Joe’s, hence the seasoning) 8-10 fresh basil leaves 2 teaspoons cream or milk salt and pepper softened butter Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter each ramekin and fill with a few pieces of tomato, cheese and basil. I want a mimosa.

*Simply Scratch*: Parmesan Garlic Bread: Last week was a busy week filled with a field trip to the zoo sandwiched by 3 twelve hour shifts. By Friday I was extremely happy for the weekend to arrive. Although Pat worked late, we still barbecued dinner and relaxed with a few adult beverages after tucking in our girls. Tonight he made a special request… for garlic bread. This garlic bread beats the store bought kind by a mile. It super easy to whip up and only takes a few minutes under the broiler. Here are the ingredients you will need. Start by pressing the three cloves of garlic into a medium bowl. Mince up a shallot so it measures one tablespoon. Add the shallot to the garlic in the medium bowl. Next, mince up the fresh parsley and measure out a tablespoon. Add that to the bowl along with the salt and pepper. Now add the *gasp* two sticks of butter and the two tablespoons {give or take} of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Mix until combined. And set aside, just for now. Grab your loaf of Italian bread. Remove and slice immediately.

Spanakopita Bites Buttery, flaky phyllo appetizers are especially popular in my family. I guess I can't blame them since who can resist buttery, flaky phyllo dough anyway?! My mother in law requested these Spanakopita Bites as an appetizer for the birthday party she was throwing for her husband. Spanakopita Bites recipe adapted from CBSrecipe yields 60-72 mini muffin sized bites 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 1 small onion, chopped 3 green onions, chopped 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach. thawed and squeezed dry 4 to 6 ounces domestic feta cheese, crumbled 1 cup cottage cheese OR ricotta cheese OR cream cheese 1 egg Salt and pepper to taste 1 pound phyllo, thawed 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Preheat oven to 375 degrees Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, mix spinach, feta, cottage cheese and egg in medium bowl. Combine the remaining butter and oil and set aside until ready to use. Remove the phyllo dough from the package and stack up.

garlic butter roasted mushrooms A repeat offender in the lede-burier category, let me begin with what matters: this is absolutely my new favorite quick and obsessively delicious way to prepare mushrooms. And now, a story. Once upon a time, I was a vegetarian who loved going to steakhouses. A friends birthday would approach and out of kindness to me, they’d start talking about gathering friends at a restaurant that had vegetarian options and I’d beg them to go to a steakhouse instead. “It’s your birthday! I know you want a steak! If only I knew the secret: escargot! I found this recipe a while back on Gourmet.com, something that hadn’t made the cut of what had to have been their final issue (moment of silence, but do you know what’s almost as wonderful?). Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms Perfect as can be from Gourmet.com Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Balsamic Pot Roast (in the Crock Pot) A couple of months ago I was reading a Taste Of Home magazine while in the waiting room at my son's orthodontics appointment, and I came across a recipe for Balsamic Braised Pot Roast. I made a mental note of it and filed it away in my brain for later use. This week, as I was struggling for dinner ideas, that recipe popped into my head. I prefer to cook my pot roasts in the slow cooker, and I knew Tuesday would be perfect since I had lots of errands to do after work that day. Ah, the smell was amazing when I walked in the door that night. The balsamic made a huge difference in flavor AND I do believe it helped to tenderize the meat as well. While I prefer to cook my pot roast in a crock pot, I do think it's essential to sear the meat first. *If you want to shorten the cook time for this, cook it on high for 6-7 hours.

Hasselback Potatoes These Hasselback potatoes looks beautiful, don't' they? Here, I also added several cloves of garlic to these Swedish version of baked potatoes to enhance the flavor. It turned out great, they were very delicious, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.. Hasselback Potatoes (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 6 Medium Size Potatoes 2 - 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 30 g Butter Maldon Sea Salt Freshly Ground Black Pepper Method Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F). Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Chicken Tamale Pie Today’s lesson is on healing foods. You might be thinking of brightly colored veggies and lean proteins, and I can dig that . Most of the time. But today I’m thinking of creamy corn bread, spicy enchilada sauce, seasoned chicken, and melted cheese baked into a pie dish. A PIE DISH. That right there is healing. I’ve had a rough go of it the last few days. The Pistachios. Let me tell you something about myself. So in an effort not to eat the whole bag of pistachios in between lunch and dinner, I’ve been spending my evenings making one bazillion types of pistachio baked goods. No pistachios were thrown at the kitchen wall. Just when I was about to throw in the towel on baking for the rest of my life, Bjork asked for this tamale pie. One last thing: Tamale Pie loves the camera. Like, whoa. Chicken Tamale Pie Author: Pinch of Yum, adapted from Cooking Light Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Serves: 8 ⅓ cup fat free milk ¼ cup egg substitute 1½ tablespoon taco seasoning, divided ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper

44-clove garlic soup Today exhausted me. A Thursday 5 p.m. deadline inexplicably became a Wednesday 2 p.m., and somehow, on what is supposed to be the deadest (inventive language like this is what I get paid the big bucks, folks) news week of the year, I was under an avalanche of it. Plus, there were other insults to injury: I had my first warm latte of the cooler season and spilled a good sum of it on my pink shirt, I stepped in a puddle and my surprisingly absorbent sandals remained damp and cold all day and I realized that flame-tinted leaf I’d seen this weekend and considered sort of a fluke, might not have been. Don’t get me wrong — I love fall — just not in August. Reminding myself that complaining about the weather makes for about as interesting conversation as “wow, I thought it was 4:15 but it’s only 3:45,” I decided to roll with it, as well as with The Coolest Anniversary Present Ever from my husband: an eggplant-colored, 7.25 quart oval Cocotte and a soup I’ve had bookmarked since last winter.

The Best Guacamole I’ve Ever Made – recipe Jul 04 2008 **Happy 4th of July everyone (in the USA)!!!I miss being out of the States on this holiday. I was searching the inter-tubes for a good-looking guacamole recipe the other day. It was flavorful, but not over powering, creamy and chunky at the same time, and gone 1/2 way through our meal! I found the recipe here at The Daily Green. Here’s how I did it: Ingredients: 2 ripe Avocados, peeled and pitted juice of 1 Lime 1/4 Cup minced Red Onion 2 Tablespoons minced Cilantro 1 small clove Garlic, minced 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt or 1/2 teaspoon Table Salt 1/2 teaspoon Pepper 1 Tablespoon minced Jalapeño Directions: Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Serve immediately. Makes 3-4 servings (but it will go so fast you should double it!). ShareThis Leave a Reply

Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes “Scalloped” is an attractive word, isn’t it? When I hear it I think of several things: first, there’s scallops, as in the seafood—totally delicious. Then there’s the scalloped shape that can live on the edge of a pair of shorts or on the collar of a woman’s blouse—always pretty and dainty. And of course scalloped potatoes also comes to mind, which carries my imagination to a land of crispy potato skins drenched in a sea of cheese and cream. I can think of no better place to exist, actually. The first players up are: a few Russet potatoes (I’m sure other varieties will work equally as well), Parmigiano-Reggiano and butter. Start by scrubbing your potatoes good and clean. Then, using a sharp knife, make slices across the potato, being sure to stop before you reach its bottom. Cut up your butter. Then do the same with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Next, open the potatoes’ crevices and shove the parmesan and butter, alternating between the two. They’ll come out looking all cheesy and inviting.

Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes Recipe These Philly cheese steak sloppy joes take your favorite ingredients of a Philly cheese steak sandwich and combine them with a classic sloppy joe. What I love about this recipe is that it is so easy to prepare and is great if you are looking for a quick meal. The process to preparing these sloppy joes is easy. Ground beef is cooked in the pan with onion and bell peppers. The mixture then gets flavor from steak sauce, beef broth, salt and pepper. Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1lb ground beef 1 medium onion (chopped) 1 medium green bell pepper (seeded and chopped) ¼ cup steak sauce 1 cup beef broth salt and ground black pepper (to taste) 4 hamburger buns 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon flour 1 cup milk 1 cup provolone cheese (shredded) Cooking Instructions: Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes Ok fine. I’m officially ready to make the transition to fall. And I thought, what better way to do it than with my all time favorite Parmesan Roasted Potatoes! These are like candy. 100% addictive. Once you stop, you just can’t stop. I always, without fail, make these with Yukon Gold potatoes because here’s the truth… I’m too lazy to peel the skins off potatoes. This is more a technique rather than a recipe, since you can scale these potatoes up if you’re cooking for a crowd. You’re going to start with some naked potatoes…. Add on all the seasonings… Using your fingers, go ahead and toss everything together…. Put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Once they are nice and golden and crispy, throw them onto a serving platter…. And then EAT!! And just a public service announcement – make a double batch and then serve them with breakfast the next morning too. Parmesan Roasted Potatoes Ingredients Instructions Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.Place the cubed potatoes into a baking dish.

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