This is not so much a recipe as it is a place to help me remember this was a fun party dinner. Plus, I figured I would take the opportunity to ask for additional suggestions.
I wanted to make something for my MIL for her birthday, but I have never really figured out what she likes to eat. I thought a baked potato bar would be nice so that people would have options and could just skip whatever they didn't like. I went with some basic stuff (listed below), but really wished I could have thought of something a little unusual. Any thoughts? What do you like on your baked potatoes? I'm partial to turning them into tacos. I'm thinking I'd like to do a sweet potato bar sometime as well, so I'd love your sweet potato ideas as well.
Baked Potato Bar
Baked potatoes
Turkey chili
Garden salsa
Grated cheddar cheese
Plain Greek yogurt
Bacon crumbles
Steamed broccoli
Friday, August 12, 2011
Garden Salsa
This is a pretty basic recipe, but we've been enjoying it quite a bit this week. If I didn't kill my cilantro, as usual, I would have put some in, but it was tasty without it.
Garden Salsa
6-9 ripe plum tomatoes, diced
1 small cucumber, cut in small dice
1 small bell pepper, cut in small dice
2 jalapenos, seeded, minced
1 tblsp lemon juice (I would have preferred a little more lime juice, but didn't have any limes)
ground cumin to taste
salt
Place cut tomatoes and cucumbers in a small colander over a bowl. Toss with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and mix with remaining ingredients. Let sit for at least an hour to let flavors combine.
Garden Salsa
6-9 ripe plum tomatoes, diced
1 small cucumber, cut in small dice
1 small bell pepper, cut in small dice
2 jalapenos, seeded, minced
1 tblsp lemon juice (I would have preferred a little more lime juice, but didn't have any limes)
ground cumin to taste
salt
Place cut tomatoes and cucumbers in a small colander over a bowl. Toss with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and mix with remaining ingredients. Let sit for at least an hour to let flavors combine.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes
I came home from vacation to find my tomatoes had ripened! Joy! Instead of just plopping them on a plate with every meal, I figured I should try something a little different. It was also hot as heck, which meant I was not interested in firing up the oven, so I decided to try stuffed tomatoes on the grill. They were delicious, but definitely a mess.
Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes
3 plum tomatoes, halved, seeds removed
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
1 tblsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tblsp fresh basil, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients except tomatoes. Add olive oil until the bread crumb mixture just comes together. Grill tomatoes, meat side down, for a minute to warm up and add a little grill flavor. Flip tomatoes over and spoon filling into the tomato and grill until the cheese melts and the filling browns lightly.
Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes
3 plum tomatoes, halved, seeds removed
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
1 tblsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tblsp fresh basil, chopped
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients except tomatoes. Add olive oil until the bread crumb mixture just comes together. Grill tomatoes, meat side down, for a minute to warm up and add a little grill flavor. Flip tomatoes over and spoon filling into the tomato and grill until the cheese melts and the filling browns lightly.
Greek Tomato Sandwich
This is way too easy and probably doesn't deserve its own blog entry, but I'm putting it here anyway. It's mostly the mayonnaise. I tried to make this without making the mayo and it was just a mess of a sandwich. And I'm sure "Greek" is a bit of a stretch, but it's what I think of when I taste it, so that's what it is here.
Greek Tomato Sandwich
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tblsp chopped fresh oregano
1 oz crumbled feta
1 large tomato, sliced
sliced onion
lettuce
whole wheat bread
Combine mayo, oregano, and feta in a small blender. Let sit in fridge for at least an hour. Assemble sandwich on toasted bread. Enjoy!
Greek Tomato Sandwich
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tblsp chopped fresh oregano
1 oz crumbled feta
1 large tomato, sliced
sliced onion
lettuce
whole wheat bread
Combine mayo, oregano, and feta in a small blender. Let sit in fridge for at least an hour. Assemble sandwich on toasted bread. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Herb Dressings
Two new variations for me. Both were delicious on green salad and pasta salad. I would let them sit in the fridge for an hour before serving to really get the flavors together.
Mayo Based Herb Dressing
1/4 cup mayo
2 tblsp lemon juice
2 tblsp rice vinegar
1 handful parsley
1 handful chives
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil, as necessary
Combine all ingredients in a small food processor. Add olive oil as necessary to reach desired consistency.
Vinegar Based Herb Dressing
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 handful parsley
1 handful basil
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or more to taste
Combine all ingredients in a small food processor. Add additional olive oil to reach desired vinegar/oil balance.
Mayo Based Herb Dressing
1/4 cup mayo
2 tblsp lemon juice
2 tblsp rice vinegar
1 handful parsley
1 handful chives
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil, as necessary
Combine all ingredients in a small food processor. Add olive oil as necessary to reach desired consistency.
Vinegar Based Herb Dressing
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 handful parsley
1 handful basil
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or more to taste
Combine all ingredients in a small food processor. Add additional olive oil to reach desired vinegar/oil balance.
Refrigerator Pickles
All last summer, I wanted to try my hand at making refrigerator pickles, but I lacked pickling spices and then, before I knew it, cucumber season was over. So, I kept getting my refrigerator pickles from the grocery. Now, I don't know why I never looked at a pickle label before, but a couple of weeks ago, as I was standing in the fridge munching on a pickle, I took a glance and there was my old friend - HFCS. I know I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. And so, I still have no pickling spices, but I grabbed a few cukes from the farmer's market and some dill from our community garden and got to work.
Garlic Refrigerator Pickles (Kevin called these "breath of fire" pickles)
1 or 1 1/2 cucumbers (depending on size), sliced, you know, cucumber width
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tblsp sugar (you might want to add more if you don't want them to be "breath of fire" pickles)
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, smashed
dash crushed red pepper
Place cucumbers and onion in glass storage container (mine was two cups). In a small saucepan, bring remaining ingredients to a boil. Stir and boil until sugar dissolves completely (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool for a minute or two. Pour over cucumbers and place in fridge for 24 hours before eating.
Dill Refrigerator Pickles
Garlic Refrigerator Pickles (Kevin called these "breath of fire" pickles)
1 or 1 1/2 cucumbers (depending on size), sliced, you know, cucumber width
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tblsp sugar (you might want to add more if you don't want them to be "breath of fire" pickles)
1 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, smashed
dash crushed red pepper
Place cucumbers and onion in glass storage container (mine was two cups). In a small saucepan, bring remaining ingredients to a boil. Stir and boil until sugar dissolves completely (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool for a minute or two. Pour over cucumbers and place in fridge for 24 hours before eating.
Dill Refrigerator Pickles
1 or 1 1/2 cucumbers (depending on size), sliced
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar (these were for Kevin, so I tried to reduce the "breath of fire" aspect)
1 tsp salt
4 large springs fresh dill
Prepare same as above.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Barley with Veggies
This was just something I threw together to serve the dual purpose of being lunch and cleaning out the fridge a little, but it ended up being really tasty. I normally don't like any application where feta cheese becomes warm, so I'm not sure why I put it in, but it definitely worked.
Barley with Veggies
3 tblsp olive oil
2 tblsp sliced onion
1 clove chopped garlic
1 zucchini, sliced into half moons
1 small bunch spinach, chopped
1/4 tsp fresh basil
crushed red pepper
3/4 cup leftover pearl barley
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
salt
Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and zucchini. Cook until zucchini begins to get tender. Add spinach, basil, and red pepper (to taste) and cook until spinach is wilted. Add barley and cook until warmed through. Remove from heat and add feta and salt to taste.
Barley with Veggies
3 tblsp olive oil
2 tblsp sliced onion
1 clove chopped garlic
1 zucchini, sliced into half moons
1 small bunch spinach, chopped
1/4 tsp fresh basil
crushed red pepper
3/4 cup leftover pearl barley
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
salt
Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and zucchini. Cook until zucchini begins to get tender. Add spinach, basil, and red pepper (to taste) and cook until spinach is wilted. Add barley and cook until warmed through. Remove from heat and add feta and salt to taste.
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