A twist on tomato pie

It's no lie that I loved the tomato pie I made the other week.  And lucky for me, the pie crust I used came in a package of 2 and that 2nd crust kept calling my name , begging to be used again and soon!

I think all that thinking about tomato pie lead me to thinking about a twist on the recipe, what else could I make a pie from....hmm. This recipe almost sounded like a quiche recipe to me, great on it's own, but at the same time, open to other possibilities.

Broccoli. That sounds like the winner. I blanched some broccoli and cut up a Black Krim heirloom tomato picked right from the vine in my backyard! Now there is a winning combination! Seeded and salted the tomato slices and let them sit for a bit. Seeding the tomatoes I think is a good tip to keep things from getting too mushy.

I didn't use the basil this time around, instead I used McCormick's seasoned sea salt to season the pie, which is a great discovery thanks to my good friend and fellow foodie, Amanda. :)

Everything else was the same as the original recipe (see August 20 post for that link).

The end result?....DELICIOUSNESS!



The broccoli just chillin' while the tomatoes are salting.

It may have been a weird combo, but I made pork cutlets with sauerkraut that day as well.

Green smoothie

I've been making green smoothies for  breakfast...and as you can see from the picture, green it is! I drink mine on the way to work.

For anyone doubting, you really can't taste the spinach.  Not that I would mind, I love spinach, especially raw spinach, but you really don't taste it and I use a generous handful of the green stuff!

I don't drink regular milk so I use almond milk or coconut water, you could use any liquid really...water, orange juice, whatever! Now the fruit!... I tend to use mainly frozen fruit because it's easy to keep on hand, but I do use fresh too! Frozen also helps thicken it up! Then you can add in any extras such as chia seeds, or flaxseed. Again, it's whatever you want and whatever is easiest for you! Lastly, the greens!

My green smoothie:

8 oz. liquid
1 cup of any fruit
1 banana
1 Tbsp flaxseed, ground
Generous handful of baby spinach

Put it all in a blender with maybe a couple of ice cubes and blend away!

It really is delicious and what a great way to start the day!

Dinners

Here's a couple of dinners we've had this week. They'll give you ideas should you need any. No fancy recipes, but good ideas none-the-less, and that is sometimes the problem with meals....trying to come up with something new or different.
Ground turkey soft tacos. Used Rick Bayless' Frontera taco skillet sauce. I've tried a couple of them and they are quite good! All the fixings...cheese, lettuce, chopped tomato, avocado. Pure yum.
Buffalo chicken salads. Had some not all that bad for you breaded chicken tenders in the freezer I was looking to use up and tossed them with Frank's buffalo sauce after baking. I used crumbled goat cheese since we aren't big bleu cheese eaters and I made Hidden Valley Ranch dressing the night before just for the occasion! And for that bit of "authenticity", I chopped up some extra celery for our salads just to get that "real" buffalo chicken feeling! :)

Books!

I read! In case you were wondering if I do anything else besides cooking. I actually just started reading for pleasure in the past year. I'm also into the e-book thing.  While not having anything physical to show after spending all this money is sometimes something I think about, not having anything physical to put away or clutter the home is nice!

Here is a sample of what I've read and recommend:

J D Nixon: Heller series (4 books)
J D Nixon: Little Town series (2 books)
Caitlin Moran: How to be a woman
Jaycee Dugard: A stolen life
Todd Burpo: Heaven is for real
E L James: Fifty shades of grey trilogy
Lolly Winston: Good grief

Quite a mix, wouldn't you say?! I'm trying to figure out what genre I like. Most people can say they like "mysteries" or "autobiographies"...turns out I just may like a little bit of everything!

And just for the hell of it....pictures of our dogs!....That is Stoli standing and Martini catching bubbles.
And a picture of a beautiful blue sky. I don't want to jinx things and say the really humid, 90-100 degree weather is over here in PA, but I'll say we are all enjoying the cooler temps of the mid-80's lately!

Tomato pie

While surfing the net the other day, I came across this recipe for tomato pie. What luck as I still had a few tomatoes left from Tim, and I came across a roadside stand where I got a few yellow and orange tomatoes. I had high hopes for this and it did not disappoint!
The recipe really is easy and comes together in no time. Don't rush to cut it after it bakes, it really needs to set up and firm up a bit.
It would make a great light dinner with a side salad, our even a lunch or brunch.  I had the leftovers for breakfast and the only bad part was when it was gone! For dinner, we had salad and grilled chicken with it.
This was delicious! The basil! The cheese! The tomatoes! Luckily, the pre-made crusts I bought come 2 to a package so I wil be making this again and soon!
Tide and Thyme » Tomato Pie

The lovely tomatoes before making their way into the pie....

YUM!

Veggies veggies everywhere!

How can anyone not got that happy feeling about vegetables!? Maybe it's just knowing how good they are for you...but when I start putting together my big ole container of salad together for the week, it really does make me happy!

This week I've also decided to make a vegetable soup for lunches. This "recipe" was given to me from a co-worker and is so easy to tweak into something you can call your own. In fact, I must say that with this batch, I've out done myself!

The basis for this soup is easy...canned vegetables! I used a regular sized can each of peas, corn, green beans, lima beans, carrots and diced tomatoes.  UNDRAINED!! That's important!! The liquid from the vegetables become your broth! Use whatever veggies you like, use more of something or less of another, it really is all up to you!

To start the soup, saute some onions and garlic in the pot, then add all the veggies! Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes so the flavors get a chance to blend. If you're concerned about sodium, you can get canned vegetables with low salt or even no salt. The only other seasonings that are suggested are black proper and garlic powder.  Read on though for my special seasoning I added this time, but first, let me continue with the how-to.

Now, my co-worker at this point adds meat. She drops in ground beef, or once I added in ground turkey breast. If you do add meat, continue to let the soup simmer another 45 minutes or so.

This go around, I didn't want to add any meat, but I did come across some lentils I had that only needed to cook for 30 minutes so they went into the pot and cooked with the veggies.  Now, for the kicker this batch!.... Remember the pesto I made a few weeks back and froze? I dropped in 4 of my "cubes" and that was all the seasoning I needed!

What a delicious flavor the pesto lends to the soup! Yum! Yum! Yum! this goess to show what possibilities pesto has beyond a pasta sauce.

Cheating cooking

Some days I cheat at cooking. Most days I'm all about healthy, no preservatives, nothing pre-packaged, it's all about fresh fresh fresh.
Then, there are these times, this one day a week when I really don't feel like letting the cooking juices flow.  I just want easy. And really, what's easier than grilling a chicken breast and steaming some veggies??! Nothing really, but there are days when even that seems like work. 
"Velveeta cheesy skillets" dinner box to the rescue! Seriously, this is some good stuff.  As I said, I'm not normally a fan of processed foods, but I make the exception here. I have the worst lighting over my stove but hopefully you can still make out the mound of orange "seasoning" and then try not to be too blinded by the glow of the cheese sauce packet!
Take note!, there are even vegetables! We always add peppers and onions so it's truly a one pot meal!  Easy. Cheesey. Yummy.

Still working on those tomatoes!

Some days, I don't even know what I'm going to make for dinner. Sure, I have an idea if it's going to be chicken or turkey (no beef here), but what I'm going to do with it is another question!

While at work today thinking about the chicken breasts I took out of the freezer, my mind went back to those tomatoes. Then I thought about my basil, then I remembered I bought fresh mozzarella....chicken caprese it will be!

I made a tomato salad of tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. It needed a wee bit more of a kick, so a sprinkle of garlic powder, and a dash each of oregano and pepper flanks and viola! Instant yum!

Grilled up the chicken along with some zucchini and onions for a side.
Served the chicken them with a generous serving of the tomato salad mixture and happiness followed.

Olé !!

Chicken quesadilla!
Yum!!
Before I get into the chicken quesadilla, I must comment on the side salad. Strangely, it's only been recently that I've taken to making a big ol' container of salad every week and keeping it in the refrigerator. On Sunday, I cut up and throw into the salad spinner a couple chopped romaine hearts and various vegetables. This week it is carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes and broccoli. A veggie is always close at hand this way!! 
It's important to have your daily dies of veggies, and many studies show it's easier to get them if they are convenient. And having that container of salad cut and washed and ready to eat couldn't be more convenient. Each family member can take as much as they want. Easy peasy. 
Ok, now back to the main attraction. What could be easier than a chicken quesadilla? I get these high fiber flour tortillas, heat up some refried beans, chop a tomato, shred sone cheese. Slice up some mexican flavored marinated chicken breast and saute it with some finely chopped peppers and onions. Spread the refried beans on the tortilla, lay some chicken on that, fold over and grill to perfection.
Let me talk about this pan too. To cook the quesadillas, I used my new 13" skillet. I got this one at the QVC outlet for $10.50! Yes, you read that right....$10.50. It's my new favorite skillet. 

Ok, so grill up the quesadilla, top with some cheese, sour cream and chopped tomatoes....don't forget that side of salad! What an easy, yummy dinner!

Unstuffed cabbage

This is delicious! I love making casseroles because I can prep and get it all ready, and then chill for a while before eating. I also love doing all the dishes before eating and only having the casserole dishes and those we're eating from to do!
The only change I made to the recipe was instead if a 14.5 oz. can of tomato sauce, I used a small can, 6 oz. I think, along with a 14.5 oz. can of tomato soup. Tomato soup is my mom's secret to stuffed cabbage and she makes good stuffed cabbage!
I also had a supervisor in the kitchen while I made this....what a cutie!!
Kalyn's Kitchen: Recipe for Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Ba, ba, ba, baba ganoush!

Finally I have gotten around to making baba ganoush! I had tahini from making hummus a while ago so this was on my short list of things to make.

I had gotten some baby eggplants at a farmers market and the rest of the ingredients I had on hand.

It comes together quickly after roasting the eggplant. It tastes pretty good too!

I pretty much followed Ellie Krieger's recipe here:
Babaganoush Recipe : Ellie Krieger : Recipes : Food Network

And I still have plenty of tahini. What next?! ...

When life hands you....

Tomatoes!!
If you're like me, you don't have a yard big enough for a huge garden. And if you're lucky enough to have a friend that does, then you really are lucky!
Thanks to  one of my besties Tim over here at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Happy-chicken-hill/324894087597898, I now have a plethora of tomatoes....and I feel like I have been using them and using them and I never have less!...magical tomatoes?!
Following are my attempts, delicious ones at that!, at cooking my way through the tomatoes....
Tomato and mozzarella salad
Tomato soup
Tomato salad over toast (breakfast!)
Bruschetta omelet

Cooking makes dishes!

My post tonight is a close up of my t-shirt I'm wearing. Doesn't matter what I cooked tonight...I always do the dishes....and always wind up looking like this!!

Maybe I should invest in an apron?!
I don't know....I tend to wear alot of my food as well, both from eating and preparing.

Weekday cooking

I'm honestly appalled when I hear people say that during the week, cooking is not an option. The one option that is there for them is fast food. Yuck! Do you know what's in that stuff??! Yea, that's the problem....you don't!!

I can make a weekday meal in 30 minutes ...sounds like a popular cooking show doesn't it?! But with my meals, there isn't a huge, long list of needed ingredients!

Tuesday night I made a chicken stir fry. Cut up a couple of chicken breasts, saute them in vegetable and sesame oil. While that is cooking, I cut up a carrot into little sticks,cut some broccoli into little florets, of opened a can of sliced water chestnuts and little baby corns. Added them to the chicken with our favorite stir fry sauce and soy sauce...voila!  2 minutes for rice cups in the microwave and dinner was served.

Tonight was my take on chicken burrito bowls. I marinated the chicken before going to work with a dry rub so it was full of flavor by 5! Cut that up and sauteed it with a small can of chopped green chillies and some small red beans, it was what I had in the pantry. Chopped up 2 heads of romaine, 1/2 a tomato, opened a can of sliced olives.  Added to all that shredded cheddar, salsa and sour cream, whatever your favorite toppings may be....mmm. Mmm. Mmm!!

This is my idea of fast food. :)