Baked Tomatoes

4 ripe tomatoes 1/2 c butter
2 c fresh bread crumbs
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce

Heat oven to 350.
Slice stem ends off tomatoes. Cut them in half and place cut side up in a baking dish.
Melt butter in a skillet. Stir in bread crumbs, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, thyme and hot sauce. Place 2 Tbl of mixture on each tomato half.
Bake 30 min, until topping is browned.

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

A Paula Deen recipe.

1/2 c + 2 Tbl butter
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into lengthwise wedges
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400.
Melt butter. Remove from heat and add cinnamon. Add sweet potatoes and toss.
Season with salt and pepper.
Roast about 25 minutes until tender.

Brownies

We need some chocolate on this blog.

Need I say more? In case you were looking for an awesome brownie recipe this one is by far the best in my world. Nestle Toll House Brownies.

Apricot and Pine Nut Pilaf

Now here's a yummy recipe. We make it in our rice cooker a lot and I love it!! Sorry no pictures because I'm not making it right now. But, I thought I'd share it anyway.

First, before you get started saute your pine nuts in butter letting them get a bit brown. This makes a huge difference in the final flavor.

Second, this is a rice cooker recipe. I'll try and give the directions in a way you can make it without one though.

You will need:
1 Tablespoon Veg. oil
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter (I use margarine, because that's all we ever have)
1/4 c. diced shallots (I skip these too, but you can add them, if you like them)
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

Before starting, I would follow the ratio of water(chicken stock) to rice that is mentioned on your preferred way of making rice. On the back of the bag or box. (Or do like in the recipe if you are using a rice cooker.)

1. Place your oil and 1 TBS of the butter in your pot. When the butter is melted add the shallots. Cook, stirring a few times until they are soft (about two minutes). Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times until the rice turns opaque, about 5 minutes. Then add the stock and salt; stir to combine. Then, close the cover and cook the rice as directed on the rice bag or box.

2. While the rice is cooking, melt the remaining 2 TBS butter in a small saute pan. Add the pine nuts and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until evenly browned. (I do this before the rice when I can watch them because they are so easy to burn.) The butter should be richly browned but not burnt. Set aside.

3. When your rice is fully cooked, and you are ready to eat it, add the pine nuts in their butter and the apricots. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice and serve immediately.

You can keep rice warm for 1 to 2 hours but don't add your pine nuts and apricots until 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Here are the rice cooker directions:
1. Set the rice cooker for Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the oil and 1 TBS of the butter in the rice bowl. When the butter is melted, add the shallots. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times, until it turns opaque, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and salt; stir just to combine. close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. While the rice is cooking, melt the remaining 2 TBS butter in a small saute pan. Add the pine nuts and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until evenly browned. The butter should be richly browned but not burnt. Set aside.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, add the pine nuts in their butter and the apricots. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Serve immediately.
This recipe comes from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook.

Review: Moroccan Chicken

Or More Rockin' Chicken as Troy has renamed it. Very delicious and all the boys liked it. Ian had to eat it with ketchup which was weird but if it means he's happy that's okay with me. Can't wait for some other reviews- or at least one from Fran :)

Lemon Tuna and Pasta

Sorry, no picture. I was too busy eating. But here is another quick and tasty meal I wanted to share. I more or less made it up myself (inspired by a few recipes I saw online).

Ingredients:

1 package of linguine
2 lemons
1 cup of heavy cream
1-2 cups of frozen peas
2 cans of white tuna (tastes better)
1 small red onion
2-3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Start boiling your pasta.
2. Next chop the onion and mince garlic and sautee in some oil.
3. Add cream to the onions/garlic mix.
4. Zest your lemons, and juice them and add both the zest and juice from both lemons to the cream mix. Also add some salt and pepper.
5. Just before your pasta is done, add your drained tuna and frozen peas to the cream/garlic/onion/lemon mix. Then add your drained pasta. Mix everything well, and let it simmer for a little bit until the peas are soft enough, but still a bit crunchy (2-4 minutes).

Preparation time: 20 minutes?

Enjoy your meal.

Balsamic Tomato Soup with Baguette and Zucchini

Here is another delicious and easy meal for you that my family loves. Most of you got to try the soup at Kari and Darcie's little Farewell party at my house.

The bread I just bought (French Baguette). You definitely want a bread that's a bit crunchy for this soup. The zucchini I simply sliced and sauteed in some olive oil with salt and pepper and some finely chopped onions (1 small chopped onion and 4 zucchinis). Only sautee it long enough that it gets tender but still has a bit of bite (about 5-10 minutes).

The Soup:

Ingredients:

2 cans of whole tomatoes (28oz)
1 big onion
4-5 garlic cloves
5-6 oz of heavy cream or evaporated milk
1 cup of beef broth
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of sugar

Directions:
1. Get out a 9x13 glass dish, and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Drain tomatoes and put in glass dish, chop onion into big chunks, and sprinkle over tomatoes, peel garlic and also throw on top of tomatoes.
3. Mix together 1/2 cup of beef broth as well as vinegar, soy sauce, oil and sugar. Mix well and pour over tomato mix. Bake the whole thing for about  45-50 minutes.
4. Blend your baked tomatoes and add the cream and broth after you blended the whole thing. Enjoy the soup now with your crunchy bread and zucchinis.


I'd say the actual prep time for the soup as well as zucchinis is maybe 30 minutes at best...