Tag Archives: tomatoes

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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The meal I’m sharing today is definitely not the prettiest meal, but it was the tastiest new meal that we’ve made in a while. And, it’s super simple, healthy, satisfying and is definitely going to be added to our weeknight meal rotation. There are three parts to this meal: the sweet potato, the protein and the toppings (guac!). Here are the details:

Sweet potatoes:
I roast sweet potatoes weekly and here’s how I do it: wash the sweet potatoes, prick them all over with a fork, wrap tightly in aluminum foil, place in the oven (450°) and bake until soft – usually 45 minutes to an hour, depending on their size. 

Protein:
For this particular meal, I used ground pork (that I buy locally!). I cooked it in a skillet with the green chile sauce pictured below. The flavor of the pork on its own was actually kind of subtle – it did just a have bit of spice to it – but was excellent in the dish as a whole. You could really use any protein you wanted in this recipe – meat or plant-based. I think almost anything would work!

Guacamole:
I love making gauc and usually do it the same every time. For this batch, I used three avocados, the juice of two limes, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. I blend everything together until very smooth in my Ninja.

Tomatoes:
I mixed cherry tomatoes with a touch of avocado oil, fresh cilantro, salt and pepper. Simple and delicious.

Putting the meal together is so simple: Split open the sweet potato and fill with your protein of choice. Top with lots (and lots) of guacamole, tomatoes and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, and enjoy!

This meal was not photogenic, so I didn’t include many photos, but it was oh so nourishing and tasty.

*Note about the green chile sauce I use in this recipe – I am all about making things from scratch, but there are a few things that I will buy already made – things like the green chile sauce I used in this recipe. I am super picky about buying packaged goods, and the green chile sauce that I bought from Wegman’s passed my test. It was made with minimal ingredients and they were all whole, real ingredients that I would have used at home.

Summer Cooking Inspiration – Herbed Zucchini Noodles with Grilled Shrimp and Tomatoes

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In an effort to share more of what we love and what we cook, here is the first in hopefully a little series of summer cooking inspiration posts.

These posts will serve as just that – inspiration. I won’t have exact recipes of what we made – I will just share photos of the process and notes of what we did in hopes that it inspires you to cook something that makes you happy.

This one was a perfect summertime meal – zucchini noodles with grilled shrimp and tomatoes. We cooked this meal on our charcoal grill and enjoyed every moment of a perfect not-quite-summer evening.

Here’s what we did:

Zucchini noodles:
We spiralized 3 large zucchinis and tossed them generously with olive oil, salt and pepper. We actually cooked these on the grill, in our vegetable grate, and it worked so well. We cooked them, tossing often, for about ten minutes. Right before we pulled them off the grill, we added minced garlic and freshly chopped herbs. We used herbs from our garden – basil and rosemary. Once off the grill, we mixed in fresh lemon juice.

Shrimp and tomatoes:
We skewered the shrimp and tomatoes separately. To season, we mixed minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and a ton of fresh lemon zest. We brushed this on both the tomatoes and shrimp before going onto the grill, and then again once we flipped them on the grill. We cooked the tomatoes until the were slightly blistered, and they were just perfect in this dish.

The dinner:
For putting the meal together, we just topped the zucchini noodles with the grilled shrimp and tomatoes. We didn’t do this, but thought that it would also be great topped with a bit of fresh Parmesan cheese.

One thing we would change next time is adding a bit more seasoning to the zucchini noodles. We’d probably add more salt, pepper and herbs, lemon juice and maybe a pinch of red pepper flakes. 

Our favorite part of the meal was the marinade/seasoning mix we made for the shrimp and tomatoes. The combo of olive oil, minced garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper was so, so delicious and the flavor really came through nicely in the dish. We will be making that again to put on many things. I think the key was using a lot of lemon zest – I used the zest from one large and thoroughly zested lemon.

Take a look:

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Late Summer Pasta: Homemade Noodles with Pesto + Tomatoes

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I can feel the end of summer. I can sense the change in many aspects of my life. In the types of clothes that I’m starting to reach for. In the foods that I am craving. In the air that blows through our open windows. Summer is ending, but it’s not gone just quite yet, and I plan to cherish my favorite things about it – especially the food – for as long as I can.

This pasta dish is definitely a testament to that. The tomatoes – a symbol of the part of me that is still holding onto summer, and the homemade noodles – showing that the first signs of fall have me slowing down, desiring long days in the kitchen, with cool air coming through  windows and a glass of wine (not beer, like summer) by my side.

This was my first time making homemade noodles because I’ve been intimidated by it for a long time. I don’t have a pasta roller and I just didn’t think that a rolling pin could roll homemade pasta dough thin enough. Recently though, something in me told me just to go for it and I’m awfully glad that I did. Just like my success with homemade gnocchi, these noodles were a pleasant experience. I plan on doing this regularly now, especially through the winter months.

So since I am just a beginner noodle maker, let me show you the resources I used: The Pioneer Woman, The Kitchn and Better Homes and Gardens. Thank you to those wonderful sites for giving me the knowledge and wisdom to smoothly get through my first noodle making experience. My advice, from one beginner to another is this: just to do it. Give it a go. Enjoy the slowness + comfort this season has to offer and make some noodles! I do understand though, that for most people, who are busy on the regular, this is a Saturday or Sunday type of meal. Not a weekday meal, and that’s okay. Save it for a special day. Make homemade noodles, dress them simply and enjoy every bite of your hard work.

We were lucky enough to get a bunch of tomatoes recently from Greg’s vacationing coworker’s CSA share and from Greg’s mom and stepdad. So, for this particular batch of noodles, I simply tossed them with pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes. A meal just right for this time of the year. Consider making it even without the homemade noodles. 

Even if you don’t have the time and/or desire to make homemade noodles at this time, I encourage you to enjoy what is now. Enjoy the last of what summer has to offer and if you’re like me, embrace the “slowing down” feeling that comes with fall. I’m enjoying it thoroughly and this dish represents that perfectly.

Below the photos, I typed out just what I did. I also suggest in the recipe section that if you do decide to make noodles for the first time, to read through what I have as well as look at my photos, but to also study the sites that I linked to above. Be prepared as possible and enjoy the process! Leave any questions in the comment section. Enjoy!

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Late Summer Pasta: Homemade Noodles with Pesto + Tomatoes
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Ingredients
  1. 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
  2. 6 eggs
  3. 1-2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
  4. 1 cup of your favorite pesto
  5. Olive oil
  6. Salt and pepper
  7. Parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. For the noodles, I followed methods from the Pioneer Woman, The Kitchn and Better Homes and Gardens, all linked above. I will describe what I did, but before making the noodles, I recommend also studying the pages I linked to above.
  2. For the noodles: Into a large mixing bowl, measure three cups of all-purpose flour. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack six eggs into the well. Using a whisk, gently whisk the eggs, incorporating a little flour into the well at a time, and continue whisking until the dough starts coming together. Dump the dough and any remaining flour in the bowl onto a clean, floured surface and begin kneading the dough. Knead for about 10 minutes, or until dough is no longer sticky and the surface is smooth (The Pioneer Woman post shows a good photo of this). Using a large, sharp knife, cut the dough into four equal parts. Gently knead each part for several minutes, just to be sure the dough has been kneaded thoroughly. Let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes.
  3. While dough is resting: Place tomatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in preheated 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until slightly blistered. Turn the oven off, tomatoes can remain in there until noodles are done.
  4. While you roll out your noodles, begin to bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  5. After 30 minutes, roll your dough. Using a rolling pin, on a well floured surface, roll out one segment of the dough at a time, as thin as you can get it. Mine was extremely thin but also very pliable. Once rolled out, sprinkle each side of dough with flour. Gently roll the dough, jelly roll style, and using a knife, cut thin strips (as shown in photo above). Once cut, unroll each strip. You have noodles! Repeat the rolling out, rolling up and slicing with each of the remaining three segments of dough.
  6. To cook noodles, place in salted, boiling water and boil for approximately five minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your noodle, so start checking them after two minutes. Mine took a full five.
  7. To make the pesto + tomato pasta: Add pesto to a large saucepan over medium heat, along with a ladle-full of the noodle cooking water. Add the cooked + drained noodles and toss. Add the roasted cherry tomatoes. Add more noodle cooking water, to thin the sauce, as needed. Top with Parmesan cheese, if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
  1. The amount of noodles made with this recipe lasted Greg and I over 2 meals. We each had a large serving for dinner, the next day for lunch, with leftovers yet.
  2. I didn't make enough noodles to freeze this time, but plan to for next time and will follow the directions on the Better Home and Gardens blog, linked above.
The Dreaming Foodie https://www.thedreamingfoodie.com/
*Noodle recipe/techniques from The Pioneer Woman, The Kitchn and Better Homes and Gardens.

Week in Photos

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Yay it’s Friday! I’ve been waiting for this Friday all summer.

My best friend (who now lives in Lexington) told me earlier this summer that we would be going shopping for her wedding dress this weekend, and I’ve been anxiously awaiting the day since. That means that we will both be home. We lived next door to each other since the beginning of my existence and we now each live hours from home, in opposite directions. It will be such a nice reunion!

We also have a nice little get-together planned at my house Saturday night with all of the people who I miss. Can’t wait!

Here are six things that made my week happy!

{This pizza. Toto’s is always a good idea.}

pizza

{These tomatoes. From Blooming Glen Farm. So good, just like this.}

toms

{Ivy. Cute as ever, I think.}

ivy

{These cupcakes. I sent them in for Greg’s lab meeting.}

cupcakes

{The keys to our new apartment. It’s officially ours!}

keys

{Going home today. Shopping tomorrow. :)}

amanda

I hope that you have a wonderful weekend! I will be back to talk to you Monday! 🙂

Simple Bruschetta

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I remember the first time my mom and I made bruschetta.

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It was many summers ago.

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It was a time when we scoured the internet for recipes when we wanted to make something more often than we tried to come up with recipes on our own.

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I remember finding the recipe, getting the ingredients and starting. It was a process. The recipe we used had us slicing an ‘x’ at the bottom of each tomato, plunging each tomato in a pot of boiling water, transferring them to a bowl of cold water, peeling the skin off, slicing each tomato in half, squeezing out the tomato seeds and then finally, chopping the tomatoes. Whew. It was quite the job.

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I will say, I remember that bruschetta being so good. We made it that way several times, and it was always an impressive dish when served to others.

ingredients

But, we started looking at it as a lot of work. If we wanted to whip up a quick meal, that bruschetta could never be a part of it. It was so delicious, but just too time consuming.

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Over time, we looked for ways to streamline the process, and basically, this is what we came up with. It’s simple and easy, and something that many people, I’m sure, probably already do. It’s so easy that it’s silly to even call this a recipe. But, if anyone reading this is in our shoes and looking for a simpler bruschetta, this is it.

bread1

bruschetta

I do have to say, I don’t have anything wrong witht the process I talked about above. The way we made it before was great. It was delicious. There was nothing wrong with the taste. I wouldn’t even say I won’t make bruschetta like that again someday. This is just a way to make it any night of the week. If you’re in a hurry, or just really hungry, this is the best.

bruschetta1

This version does have tomato seeds and tomato skin, while the other doesn’t. That was what the process was for — to remove the skin and seeds. For me, the skin and seeds aren’t a problem. It’s all about the flavor. Chopped tomatoes, basil and onion, good olive oil, a touch a salt and pepper, crusty bread and a sprinkle of parmesan. It’s simple deliciousness at its finest.

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This dish is best with fresh, summer tomatoes. I got mine from Three Springs and they couldn’t be better! Enjoy this summertime dish!

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Ingredients
1 baguette (I used a mini one!)
4 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoons fresh basil
1 small red onion
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Dice the tomatoes. Chop the basil. Dice the red onion. Place all three into a bowl and stir. Add a drizzle of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons, and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir well.

Slice the baguette. Brush each slice with some olive oil and place under the broiler for about a minute, or until the bread begins to get crispy. Spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice of bread. Sprinkle cheese on top of the tomato mixture. Place the bruschetta back under the broiler for several minutes, until the cheese is melted and bread is at desired crispiness.

Notes:
-The amounts I provided are a guide. If you like more or less basil/onion, adjust accordingly.
-Use any cheese that you like.
-The tomato/basil/onion mixture will keep in the refrigerator for several days.
-These are a bit messy to eat, but so worth it!

Enjoy!