Basil Tomato Panini

It is Garden Basil and Tomato Season!  Enjoy a simple and amazing Grilled Panini sandwich!

INGREDIENTS:
Sliced Sourdough (I love the Cracked Wheat Sourdough from Trader Joes)
Mayo OR Basil Pesto (pictured)
Fresh Basil
Sliced fresh tomatoes
Provolone or mozzerella cheese (or a combo of both!)

Garden Salsa

It's garden salsa season!  An abundance of garden tomatoes has led to a daily snack of chips and salsa.  This year I have discovered that heirloom tomatoes make amazing salsa.  They are so sweet and have less seeds, but you can also make this salsa with ANY variety of tomatoes you have on hand.  Each batch tastes slightly different due to the tomatoes, but it is always delicious!

image from here

In a food processor combine: 
3-5 cups tomatoes (or about 5 LARGE tomatoes)
1/2 of one small white onion

2 cloves garlic
juice from 1 lime or 5 drops lime oil
1/4 cup cilantro
1 bell pepper (any color)
1-2 jalapeños (seeds removed)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp Tone's Southwest Chipotle Seasoning*
1/2 tsp salt (add more at end to taste)

*Feel free to experiment with other spices in place of this if you don't have it.  You can double the amount of cumin, or add some chipotle seasoning, smoked paprika, chili powder, etc.  Also note, the sweetness depends on your fresh tomatoes!

Gourmet Garden Greek Salad

This is a "lettuce-less" salad.  This is so colorful and fresh.  Summer is here!

Image Credit Here

INGREDIENTS:

Combine in a bowl a combination of the following:

Tomatoes

diced red onion (a little goes a long way)
Fresh Chives
Fresh Basil/Parsley
Cucumber
Celery
Red Pepper
Avocado
Feta Cheese

Garbonzo Beans

Kalamata or black olives

Fresh pepper

-Toss salad with Olive Garden Dressing and garnish with a little Balsamic Glaze

BBQ Chicken Salad

This is a recreation of Cheesecake Factory's' BBQ Chicken Salad.  Feel free to add additional ingredients that sound good to you...I'm all about LOTS of toppings with my lettuce!

Image Credit: Valentinas Corner

Salad:
Romaine lettuce
Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese
1 c. white or yellow corn
1 c. black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, diced
2 c. tortilla strips
3 c. chopped grilled chicken

Crispy Onions (can be found on Salad Dressing aisle)

optional: chives, cucumber, sprouts

BBQ ranch Dressing:
1 c. homemade ranch
3 TBS BBQ sauce
1 TBS fresh lemon or lime juice

THE BEST Tomato Caprese

 

This is one of my all-time Favorite easy and delicious appetizers.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Fresh tomatoes, sliced

Fresh mozzarella slices

Olive Oil

Fresh basil

salt/pepper

Trader Joes Everyday Seasoning

Trader Joes Balsamic Glaze

-Layer tomatoes and cheese in desired pattern.  Sprinkle with salt/pepper/seasoning.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic glaze.  Top with chopped fresh basil.

Cheesecake Factory Chopped Salad

This is a favorite salad of mine.  When my mom treats me to lunch on shopping dates...we always get one of these!  This copycat recipe is really good!

Ingredients:

Chopped Romaine

diced tomatoes

grilled chicken

chopped Granny Smith apple

crumbled bacon

sliced avocado

corn

Salad Dressing:

1/2 c. light olive oil

4 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 minced garlic clove

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 TBS chopped shallot (or red onion)

3 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Navratan (9 Vegetable) Korma

This is another great Indian dish.  I love how many vegetables it uses.  I'm not sure when I first had this dish...but I've tried many times to recreate it.  Here is a recipe that comes very close to what I remember eating at a restaurant.  Enjoy!

Image from Here.

In large soup pot over medium heat cook 7 minutes:
2 red onions, sliced
2 c chopped tomatoes
3 TBS butter or olive oil
1/2 c cashews
-Add the below spices and cook 1 more minute:
1 tsp chili powder
2 TBS honey
1 TBS Kasoori Methi 
1 TBS garam masala
1 tsp salt
2 TBS fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic
-Using a blender, blend onion, tomato, cashew, and spice mixture until smooth and cream.  Return sauce back to large soup pot and add:
1 can coconut milk
chopped vegetables: potatoes, peas, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, water chestnuts, green beans
1/4 c. golden raisins (optional)
-Simmer until vegetables are soft.  Season with additional salt to taste.  
-Serve over basmati rice.  Garnish with additional cashews and chopped fresh cilantro.

Ecuadorian Lentil Stew

 

(Picture from Keep Recipes)

My friend Julie made this for me recently.  She lived in Ecuador.  This dish is very simple and delicious! It makes great leftovers and also a great meal for take and go lunches.  Here is her recipe slightly altered.

Ingredients

• 2-3 tbs oil
• 1 red onion diced
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 3 tomatoes diced
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 3 tsp cumin
• 1 bunch chopped cilantro
• ~7 cups of water
• 1 lb lentils rinsed
• Salt/pepper to taste

Side dishes:

• Ecuadorian style rice

Instructions:

• Heat the oil on medium heat in a large sauce pan or cooking pot.
• Add the onion, bell pepper, tomato, garlic, cumin, salt,  and 2 tablespoons of the cilantro to make a refrito for the stew.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the ingredients have softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the water and increase heat to bring water to boil.
• Add the lentils and reduce the heat to medium low, cover partially and cook until the lentils are tender. Taste and add salt if needed, stir in the remaining cilantro, and remove from the heat.
• Serve with Ecuadorian style cooked rice, carne asada o carne frita (fried thin beef steaks), fried ripe plantains or fried green plantains, and a small salad or avocado slices.
  
  
  
  

  Instant Pot Directions: Saute onion, oil and spices for 5 minutes.  Add only 4 CUPS of water (not 7).  Add all other ingredients.  Pressure cook for 11 minutes.

Burger Salad

If you're wanting a new salad or are looking for a new Keto recipe...look no further!

Picture from 40aprons

INGREDIENTS--get creative!

Salad greens (romaine, iceberg, spinach)

red onion (carmelized for extra tastiness)

bacon, cooked/crumbled

ground beef, cooked and fat drained

cheese (blue cheese or cheddar are my favorite)

pickles

mushrooms

tomatoes

avocado

Sauce/dressing of choice (mayo, coconut aminos, ranch, etc)

Chicken Toscana Soup

This is a comfort food soup for sure!  I prefer using "mini" gnocchi for this if you can find them, but large ones work great too.  It's summer...but hey I'm already craving the fall!

1 TBS olive oil                                                      

1 med onion

3 stalks celery, diced

3 carrots, diced                                                          

1 clove garlic, minced                                                     

6 TBS butter

6 TBS flour                                                           

1 c half and half

8 c chicken broth                                                  

3 c chopped, cooked chicken                                           

1 c chopped fresh tomato (about 2-3 romas)                    

1 c chopped fresh baby spinach

1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese     

16 oz gnoochi

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp pepper

2-3 shakes of Turmeric (for color)

                                      

Sauté onion in oil until nicely cooked.  Add garlic, celery, carrots, and butter and cook on med until butter is melted.  Add flour to make a roux and cook 1 min, stirring constantly.  Add half and half and stir till well incorporated.  Slowly add in chicken broth.  Add rest of ingredients (except Parmesan cheese) and simmer. Just before serving, remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese. 

Grilled Chicken with Cobb Salad

I LOVE Cobb salad.  Here is another slight variation from Food Network (picture from them too).  I wish I could just pull this from my fridge without any effort!

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 8 ounces each)
• 1 small onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 slices bacon
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions

Pound the chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap with a mallet or heavy skillet until 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Transfer to a large bowl and add the onion, 3/4 cup buttermilk, the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain; reserve the drippings for the dressing. Chop the bacon.

Fill a small bowl with ice water. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the eggs and cook 4 minutes, then transfer 1 egg to the ice water using a slotted spoon. Continue cooking the remaining 2 eggs until hard-boiled, 6 more minutes; drain and let cool.

Make the dressing: Remove the 4-minute egg from the ice water and carefully peel (it will be soft); transfer to a blender. Add the vegetable oil, reserved bacon drippings, remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk, the vinegar, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and blend until smooth and slightly thick, about 1 minute. Refrigerate while you cook the chicken, at least 15 minutes.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high. Lightly brush with vegetable oil. Drain the chicken and onion, discarding the garlic; pat the chicken dry. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken, turning once, until just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Grill the onion, turning occasionally, until tender and lightly charred, about 10 minutes; roughly chop.

Peel and chop the hard-boiled eggs. Toss the romaine, grilled onion, tomato, avocado, blue cheese and 1/4 cup of the dressing in a large bowl. Divide the chicken among plates and top with the salad; top with the bacon and chopped hard-boiled eggs. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and season with pepper.

Garden Greek Salad with Balsamic Glaze

We have an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers this year!  This is a great salad to utilize that abundance.  I love adding celery to give it the extra crunch, the creaminess of the avocado, and fresh basil and chives from our garden give this salad extra delicious taste!

In a large bowl combine (in any ratio you prefer):
cherry tomatoes (yellow pear tomatoes are beautiful too in this dish--mine aren't ripe yet!)
diced tomatoes
diced cucumber
chopped celery
diced avocado
feta cheese (or you can do fresh mozzarella cut in small cubes)
fresh basil
fresh chives (or finely chopped red onion)
salt/pepper to taste
--Toss ingredients with some Olive Garden Dressing.  Garnish with sliced tomatoes and balsamic glaze.

Tomato Caprese Salad

Fresh garden tomatoes

Fresh mozzarella

Fresh basil

salt/pepper

balsamic vinegar

Fall Cooking Class Recipes

Here are the recipes from my most recent cooking class.  I took pictures of everything and then they all got deleted somehow...so I'll just post them anyway so you have something to go from for now!

Latacha’s CHILI

Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef 1 medium/large onion, diced 1 29 oz can tomato sauce 1 29 oz can kidney beans, drain liquid 1 29 oz can pinto beans, drain liquid 1 4 oz can mild green chilies 2 stalks celery, diced 3 fresh medium tomatoes, chopped 1 TBS chili powder 2 tsp cumin powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons salt 4 cups water Directions: 1. Brown the ground beef with onion in a skillet over medium heat;  drain off the fat. 2. Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea-size pieces. 3. In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients, simmer over low heat. 4. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.  (Or use crockpot: low for 3 hours) 5. For spicier chili, add ½ teaspoon more black pepper. For extra spicy chili, add 1 tsp black pepper and a tsp cayenne pepper. For super hot spicy, add 5 sliced jalapeño peppers to the pot. Laura’s Veggie Chili 1 medium onion, diced 1 can corn, drained 1 zucchini, chopped 2-3 bell peppers (any color), chopped 1 29 ounce can tomato sauce 1 29 ounce can kidney beans, drain fluid 1 29 ounce can pinto beans, drain fluid 1 4 oz. can mild green chilies 2-3 stalks celery, diced 3 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped 1 TBS chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin powder 1 teaspoon black pepper 2 teaspoons salt 4 cups water Directions: 1.     Caramelize onion for 7 minutes (optional) 2.    Combine ALL ingredients in large soup pot (or crockpot).  Stir to combine.  3.    Simmer over low for 2 hours (or cook on low for 2-3 hours in crockpot) Crockpot Pork Chops with Apple Chutney (Betty Crocker) Ingredients 4-8 center-cut bone-in pork loin chops, 1 inch thick (about 2 lb), trimmed of fat ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper 6 tablespoons packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ cup sweetened dried cranberries 2 medium baking apples, peeled, chopped (2 cups) Directions 1 Spray 3- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper; place in cooker. 2 In small bowl, mix brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, cinnamon, red pepper and cranberries. Spoon over pork in cooker; top with apples. 3 Cover; cook on Low heat setting 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes. Fresh Blender Cranberry Sauce  4 c. cranberries 1 whole orange (peel and all!) 1 c. sugar -Cut off ends of orange, then put cranberries, orange  and sugar in blender.   -Blend until smooth. Stir in 1 c. pomegranate seeds (optional).   -This keeps in fridge for a VERY long time!  It also freezes well, so well that you cannot tell the difference between a fresh  or frozen batch! Mini-Gingerbread Muffins ¼ c. butter, softened 2 1/3 c. flour (can use wheat) 2 tsp baking pwdr. 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp ginger ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp allspice ¼ tsp cloves ½ tsp salt ¾ c. sugar 1 c. pumpkin ½ c. unsulfured molasses 2 eggs ½ c. buttermilk 1 c. confectioners’ sugar and 2 TBS water (for frosting) -Combine all ingredients (except conf. sugar/water) in bowl  and mix until well combined. Spoon into prepared mini cake or muffin pans. -Bake 350 for 20 minutes. Let sit in pan 5 minutes on cooling rack. Then shake out of pan. Cool completely. Then dip muffin tops in  Confectioners’ sugar glaze if desired. -Yield 36-40 mini muffins. -For LARGE muffins bake 25 minutes. Cheesy Southern Biscuits 1 tsp olive oil 2 c flour 1 TBS baking powder 1 TBS dried parsley 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp salt 1 tsp white sugar 1 c shredded cheddar cheese 5 TBS butter 1 c milk (a little bit more if dough too dry) -Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. -With a fork, mix together the flour, baking powder, parsley, thyme, salt, sugar,  and cheese in a bowl. Cut the butter (or grate) into the flour mixture in  coarse chunks, then use the fork to further]cut the butter into the flour-cheese  mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Lightly stir in the milk  just until the dough holds together. Don’t over stir! -Drop the batter by spoonfuls (or cookie scoop) onto 11x17 the baking sheet,  and bake in the preheated oven until risen and golden brown, 20-25 min.  -Makes 12 large (bake 25 minutes) or 18 medium biscuits (bake 20 minutes).  For mini biscuits (bake 12-15 minutes). *Pumpkin* or Cream Biscuits 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour 2 TBS sugar 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 1/ 2 c. heavy cream -Preheat oven to 425. 1. Mix together all dry ingredients.   Add cream (and pumpkin for pumpkin version) and stir until just combined (add extra cream if too dry). 2. Using hands, shape dough into a circle or rectangle.  Cut into wedges  or circles. 3. Place biscuits on parchment lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown,  about 15 minutes.  Serve immediately. ***For PUMPKIN version, add ½ c. pumpkin at the same time as the cream.  Sprinkle top of biscuits with cinnamon and sugar before baking.