teacher by day - chef by night
Just in case you have not had enough Pumpkin Recipes, I give you… Pumpkin Muffins! These muffins may look ‘difficult’ but they could not have been easier. (Ok, I guess they could have been easier – but not really, you get what I’m saying?) We …
I have wonderful parents. They are so willing to watch our dogs whenever we need them to. I try to do what I can to show them how much I appreciate it. Recently they kept our dogs overnight and I promised to bring breakfast in …
We had an issue with hot peppers this year, and by “issue” I mean Rich grew habaneros & I evacuated the house while making hot sauce, burned my skin a few times, and also was overwhelmed with the amount of spice and had no idea what to even do with them anymore. Luckily, we did have some Jalapenos as well (from our Co-Op, although next year jalapenos are all we plan to grow in the hot-pepper-department). And with those Jalapeno Peppers I knew that this Jalapeno Bisque would be a big hit at home.
These photos actually represent take #2 of this soup because the first one I made for Rich one evening when he was out at school late and he ended up just bringing the whole container to work. He said that first version was almost too spicy to have a whole bowl of. This version was a lot more mild (I just used all sorts of green peppers). I think somewhere between the two would be perfect, so that is what I am posting.
Make sure to allow your peppers to get chopped enough in the food processor and use canned tomatoes that are finely chopped, not just chopped/diced. Besides that – feel free to play with the flavor/spice profile depending on what you and your loved ones like. Goes great with a big salad or as a starter soup or quesadillas or for lunch! And as I finish writing this post with the snow falling at the end of October I know that this soup would do wonders to warm us up!
1 T olive oil
6 to 8 jalapeños, chopped
1 cup chopped [red] onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups milk
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 can diced tomato (the medium sized can)
1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and chopped
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
Throw your jalapenoes, onion, and garlic in a small food processor and get a fine chop/dice. Then in a medium pot/pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the jalapeños, onions, & garlic until the vegetables are almost soft. Add the milk to the jalapeño mixture. Stir in the remaining ingredients and gently heat to blend flavors. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with additional cilantro.
And I leave you with this, today’s Question of the Day… what is your go-to warm up dish on a cold days?
These stuffed tomatoes are everything you could want in a late summer meal…. fresh, filling, healthy. They are easily adaptable too! Think of Stuffed Tomatoes as you would Stuffed Peppers… they work basically the same way! I wanted to go full-out Italian so I stuffed …
To create this meal I litterally just threw tomatoes in the blender & thought about flavors. Then pureeded batches of tomato & friends went into the pot to be heated/reduced/tasted/enjoyed. Perfect with a quick quesadilla on the side to finish off the “Mexican Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Dinner” theme.
I’m not sure how your house currently looks – but mine looks like it is covered in tomatoes. No – and not just because my kitchen is painted red but because I have almost no counter space due to tomatoes (literally, 40+ pounds of tomatoes – we are in the process of ‘dealing’ with them)! I am freezing ‘fresh’ tomatoes to use later. I also am making salsa (and freezing some). I will also have some tomato sauce that will be making its way to the freezer.
But I enjoy eating fresh tomatoes!! For lunch the other day I had just a container of tomatoes that I cut & salted as I ate them – yum. Tomato Salads & Bruschetta have been on the [snack] menu multiple times the past few days as well. Stuffed Tomatoes of various sorts are another popular appetizer around here. We wanted a yummy fresh tomato dish the other day though. After making Zucchini Baba Ganoush, Tomatillo Salsa (a few times) & Tomato Soup – I decided that the house needed to smell yummy from some roasted veggies again.
This is SO simple and easy – roast up some fresh tomatoes with garlic, olive oil, & salt and you have your sauce. The only “work” to this is planning an hour ahead to roast up your tomatoes. So what are you waiting for – enjoy the flavors of summer and enjoy!!
(amounts approximate)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish, combine tomatoes, garlic, oil, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Season with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes until tender, juicy, and skins have popped, about 40 to 50 minutes.
Cook linguine according to package directions in salted water until cooked to desired texture. Serve into bowl then top with some more olive oil, the tomato mixture & some fresh basil, and a few shavings of fresh parmesan. Serve immediately. Yield: 2 – 4 servings (depending on appetites, I’m sure you know how far a box of pasta goes in your family).
*Note – I have also made this with making a quick tomato sauce (onion, garlic, peeled/diced fresh tomatoes, red wine) and mixing my pasta with that & serving the roasted tomatoes on top – that gave us two dimensions of tomato flavor!
One Year Ago: Apple Cinnamon Muffins
And I leave you with this, today’s Question of the Day… What is your favorite way to use garden ripened tomatoes?