Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

I made this bruschetta recipe for a dinner party a week ago. Then I read the post for Trina's bruschetta chicken and it sounded good to me. I didn't have the ingredients for her bruschetta chicken but I had leftovers from my party. So,instead of putting the brushetta on toasted bread I put it on grilled chicken and angel hair pasta. It was really good. It's also really good the traditional way on bread. It is a fast make, we were eating within 25 minutes.


Ingredients
6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


Method
Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice. Chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I also had some fresh mozzarella I wanted to use up so I chopped that up and added it. It was good but not necessary.

More Pasta

You know the great thing about pasta? It is so quick and easy, and so versatile! Here is a new quick easy thing to do with pasta and veggies.

Just take any of your favorite veggies, like:
red pepper
zucchini
yellow neck squash
carrots
broccoli
snap peas
asparagus
whatever

Then saute your preferred veggies in some olive oil whilst cooking your favorite pasta (linguine, or thin spaghetti go well). Season veggies with a bit of salt and pepper. Then when pasta and veggies are at desired tenderness, toss them all together with your favorite Italian dressing! Bernstein's (I probably spelled it wrong, and I am not talking about the bears) goes really well, but this time I chose some creamy Parmesan. Yummers!

Basic Pizza Dough

This is my most favorite pizza or breadstick recipe because it's fast and tastes great!

2/3 package dry yeast
1/2 c. lukewarm water
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 1/3 c. flour
1/3 tsp. salt
1/3 Tbls. olive oil

1. Dissolve sugar & yeast in water; set aside for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Combine flour, salt, & olive oil in bowl; make a well in the center.
3. When yeast mixture is bubly, pour into center of well. Start kneading, bringing flour toward center of bowl; gradually increasing kneading motion.

If dough feels sticky, add flour, if it feels dry, add water. Knead vigorously until dough is smooth and elastic. Roll into ball; cover with a damp cloth. let rest for about 20 minutes in warm place. Beat dough with your palm to expel gas formed while fermenting. When ready to use, place dough on floured counter top or table and flatten with your hands or rolling pin from center out. Bake in oven at 425-450F. This recipe makes 1 crust, but I usually triple to make two big pizzas or three medium pizzas. Also, the dough can be stored in the fridge or freezer, just baste with a little olive oil and wrap in plastic wrap. Enjoy!

Grandma's Pancakes! Yummy!

This is a recipe I got from my Grandma, Marilyn Witt, when she was visiting me in Hawaii. We were trying to decide what to make for breakfast one morning, and we had decided on pancakes, but I went to my cupboard to pull out my trusty Krusteaz pancake mix but I was all out. So, my Grandma says, what do you need that for, I'll just make them from scratch. So, just about as quick as I could make my Krusteaz mix she whips up this homemade batter and they were phenomenal. My Grandma had twelve kids, so she's made quite a few pancakes from this recipe. The best thing about it is that you can make them with whole wheat or white flour and either way they taste great and are super easy.

Pancakes:

1 1/4 c. flour
1 Tbls. baking powder
1 Tbls. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 egg
2 Tbls. oil

Cranberry Walnut Muffins

I love muffins, but unfortunately I just don't make them enough. This is one of my favorite muffin recipes because it has cranberries in it and it uses Splenda. If you don't have Splenda, you can use regular sugar without any problems at all.

Cranberry Walnut Muffins:

1 1/4 c. Splenda
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2/3 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. melted butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
2/3 c. frozen or fresh cranberries

1. Mix dry ingredients.
2. Add buttermilk, butter, eggs, & zest to flour mixture.
3. Add walnuts & cranberries and stir until just blended
Bake @ 375F for 20-25 minutes or until you know they're done:)

A couple of ideas for you, because I never have buttermilk on hand I always use a little trick I learned from my mom. Just add a couple teaspoons of vinegar to regular milk, and you have almost the same thing. Also, if you're not a fan of cranberries you could easily replace them with raisins. I've also tried this recipe with dried cranberries and I just added a couple tablespoons of extra milk and it turned out great!

Pumpkin Cake Dessert

Well, after being a thief for so long, and stealing all your amazing food dish ideas, I've been feeling extremely guilty and felt that I really need to give back. I don't have that many great recipes, but here are a couple of my favorites. I made this dessert the other day and Rachelle's Mom requested I post it. So here's to you April! Sorry, I don't have a picture right now.

Pumpkin Cake Dessert:

1 yellow cake mix
1/2 c. melted butter
1 egg
1 can pumpkin (24oz)
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
3/4 of the cake mix reserved
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. margarine/butter melted

So basically there are three parts/ steps to this recipe - the bottom crust layer, the pumpkin filling, and the cakelike topping.

1. Mix 1/4 cake mix with 1/2 cup melted butter & 1 egg. Press this mixture into the bottom of 9x13 cake pan.

2. Mix pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, salt, cinnamon, & vanilla in mixing bowl. Pour mixture in pan over the bottom crust layer.

3. Mix together topping ingredients and sprinkle over entire pan evenly.

Bake for about 1 hour @ 350F. You can top with whip cream or have with ice cream. It's really good served warm or cold, and you should refrigerate any leftovers.

Rhubarb Pie

I love summer, and with the coming of summer, is the coming of Rhubarb back in the grocery stores. "What is rhubarb?" you may ask. Well, as I told the Giant cashier who questioned me about this funny red celery, it is a very sour plant (fruit? veggie??) that when you add sugar, makes delicious desserts. Rhubarb cheescake, rhubarb sauce over ice cream, and my favorite, rhubarb pie. So, if you have never had it, give it a try! Even with the sugar, it is still tart, which is the best, and a nice scoop of vanilla icecream is the best.

Rhubarb Pie
4-5 c. of rhubarb cut into 1 in chunks
1 2/3 c. sugar (more or less depending on the amount of rhubarb you have)
1/3 c. flour
pinch of salt

Mix all above ingredients together and let sit in bowl for 15 minutes. Then put into pie crust, top with some dabs of butter, cover with remaining pie dough, slit and sugar the top and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes. Serve warm or cooled with vanilla ice cream.

I usually use my mom's "foolproof pie crust" but thought I would try a new one this time. I will give you both.

Mom's other crust

2 c. flour
3/4 c. butter
<3/4 tsp salt
mix together with pastry blender to crumbly
add 5-7 tbs ice water a little bit at a time til it forms a nice dough, not too sticky. Do not handle a lot, but roll out quickly.

Foolproof Pie Crust
(this one makes enough for 2 bottom and top crusted pies, but it is easy to work with, and you can freeze extra to use anaother time)

4 c. flour
1 3/4 c. shortening
1 Tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
1 Tbs vinegar
1 egg
1/2 c. water
Blend flour, shortening, sugar and salt with pastry blender. Combine vinegar, egg, and water in small bowl and mix well. Add to flour mixture and blend gently. Mold into a ball and chill for 15 minutes. Roll out as desired on floured counter.

bruschetta chicken

I got this recipe off the back of the box of Stovetop Stuffing. Even if you don't like things out of a box, I checked the nutrition stuff for the stuffing and it's one of the more reasonable things out there. The only thing there's a question on as far as I'm concerned is the amount of sodium, and even then, it's not as high as most boxed things. This was also pretty quick to make. It was pretty mild, so you could probably tweak with the herbs in step 3 but I did it with just the basil.

BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN
1. Preheat oven to 400 and defrost 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast. (I used 4 chicken breasts.)

2. Mix the following: one 14-oz. can of diced tomatoes, 1 package of dry stuffing mix, 1/2 cup hot water, and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Set aside.

3. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, put in 13x9 baking dish, sprinkle with basil and shredded mozzarella cheese. The recipe gave measurements for the basil and cheese - I just put on as much as I like, which is fairly heavy on the basil, and I covered the chicken with cheese.

4. Put the stuffing mixture over the top. Bake for 30 min.

5. Serve with green salad on the side.

Asparagus Pasta

I made a dish and actually remembered to take a picture. Isn't it amazing??

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups uncooked penne pasta

1 cup chopped asparagus

6 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cloves garlic

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with herbs, including juice

1 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled (I use feta)

1 T. Parmesan cheese

Directions

Fill large pot 3/4 full with water and bring to boil. add the pasta and cook until al dente 10-12 min. Drain and set aside.

Steam asparagus 2-3 minutes until tender-crisp

Spray large nonstick frying pan with cooking spray. Add the chicken and garlic and saute over medium-high heat. Cook until the chicken is golden brown, about 5 to 7 min. Add the tomatoes, including their juice, and simmer 1 min more.

In a large bowl, add the pasta, steamed asparagus, chicken mixture and goat cheese. Toss gently to mix evenly.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on each serving. Serve warm.

Peking Pork

At the request of a friend I am posting this yummy Peking Pork recipe. I didn't have the foresight to get a picture last time I made it, but I'll try and add one later. This picture (from the internet) gives an idea of how to serve it. It's surprisingly easy. Have fun.

Ingredients:

2 whole pork tenderloins

2 T. chopped fresh ginger

2 T. brown sugar

3 T ketchup

1/2 tsp 5 spice powder

1 c. sesame seeds

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. beef or veg stock

1 T light soy sauce

1 T molasses

1/4 c. honey

Directions:

Combine garlic, ginger, stock, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, molasses and 5 spice powder as marinade. Pour over meat and cover. Refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight. Remove meat from marinade, pat dry and baste with honey then roll in sesame seeds. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until juices run clear. Serve with mustard, plum sauce or chutney.

request

I'm looking for recipes and ideas for the following:

- stuff to put in pita bread that is not hummus or cucumbers
- what to do with corn tortillas that's not chicken enchiladas
- salad wraps
- pasta salad. I have 3 pasta salad recipes (including the one I just posted) and since we eat it all summer, I'd like to get more variety there.
- any thoughts on making my own baby food. I'm good to go with fruit purees, but don't know even where to start with anything else.

Thanks!!

pasta salad - one of many

Hi all. I'll come back and edit this post to add the picture later - I took one, but I don't know how to get it on here yet.

I got this pasta salad recipe from my aunt - when I was at her house a couple of years ago, I went through her cookbooks and wrote a bunch of stuff out. I recently found those random pieces of paper and have started making stuff from them. Pasta salad is one of my favorite things for warm weather days, and I was a bit overheated from hiking up the hill at the zoo earlier today. This really hit the spot, and I'm looking forward to trying the lemon summer pasta that Tiana posted (I'm also a big fan of asparagus and garlic).

AUNT JEAN'S PASTA SALAD
1 - Cook a box of penne pasta.
2 - Put 2 tbl. olive oil in a frying pan, cook 1 cup julienne-cut carrots and 1/2 cup chopped red onion. Cook on high heat until the carrots start to get tender.
3 - At this stage, you can add Italian sausage if you want to.
4 - Lower the heat and add 1 cup snap peas and 1 cup broccoli.
5 - Add 2 cans of chopped tomatoes (or dice 2 beefsteak tomatoes), and basil, garlic, and oregano to taste.
6 - When the veggies are heated all the way through, mix with the pasta.
7 - Add black olives and cubed mozzarella cheese.
8 - Eat warm or cold.