Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce

(Sunday Strategy, continued)

Menu for Wednesday:

Pasta with Roasted Tomato Sauce

10 Roasted Tomato Halves, chopped
salt/pepper
1/4 cup evoo
1 lemon
12 oz. pasta
1 handful fresh basil
1 clove garlic, minced

Boil pasta in salted water. Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat oil, add tomatoes and garlic. (I also added some oregano and rosemary because I love them.) Stir together until pasta is done, then toss the pasta with the tomatoes. Juice the lemon and chop the basil and pour both over the pasta. Serve with crusty bread. YUM!

Spinach and Bacon Frittata

(Sunday Strategy, continued)

Menu for Thursday

Spinach and Bacon Frittata

6 eggs
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt/pepper
5 strips bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 Boiled Potatoes, quartered
Prepped Spinach
2 tbsp. evoo
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
Prepped Boston Lettuce

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together eggs, ricotta, parmesan, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Set aside. In an ovenproof nonstick skilled, cook bacon until crisp. Drain all but 1 tsp. fat. Add potatoes, and cook until warmed through. Add spinach and cook until barely wilted (about 30 seconds). Add egg mixture and stirl over medium heat for about a minute until thickened. Transfer skilled to oven and bake until center is set, about 18 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together oil and vinegar with a little salt and pepper and toss with lettuce. Serve frittata with salad on the side.

Pizza Two Ways

(Sunday Strategy, continued)
Menu for Friday
Pizza Two Ways:
3 tbsp. evoo
Frozen Pizza Crusts
6 Roasted Tomato Halves, chopped
3/4 cup ricotta
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
salt/pepper
7 small red potatoes, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. rosemary
1/4-1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 475. Place crusts on two lightly oiled baking sheets and brush each with olive oil. Top one crust with tomatoes, collop with ricotta, then sprinkle with Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Top second crust with an even layer of potatoes, sprinkle with rosemary, then drizzle with 1 tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper. Bake pizzas for about 15-20 minutes, until done. Sprinkle tomato pizza with basil.

(I actually made one pizza, half tomato, half potato. Delicious!)

Um yum. Buffalo Chicken Calzone...

Ingredients
For calzone:
Cooking spray
2 reserved chicken breast halves, diced, about 2 cups
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
2/3 cup reserved tomato sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (i did some research and it is likely liquid smoke is carcinogenic...so I just went ahead and omitted that...)
1 teaspoon hot sauce (depending on how hot your hot sauce is I would use more...keep tasting and see how hot you want it)
1 pound fresh or frozen pizza or bread dough, thawed according to package directions
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
For dip:
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, cheese, tomato sauce, liquid smoke, and hot sauce. Mix well and set aside.

Roll dough out, using a rolling pin, to a 12-inch circle. Spread chicken mixture over half of circle, to within 1-inch of the edge. Fold over untopped side so that it meets the other side, forming a half moon. Pinch the edges together to seal.

Transfer calzone to prepared baking sheet and brush the top with olive oil. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan. Using a sharp knife, make a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape during cooking. Bake 15 minutes, until puffed up and golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

For dip:
While the calzone is baking, in a small bowl, combine sour cream, blue cheese and chives.

Serve calzone sliced with sour cream dip on the side.



I'm eating it right now. Delicious.

2 Yummy Soups

I tried both of these soups at a cooking club and they were amazing!!
Southwestern Pumpkin Soup

3 cups chicken stock
1 cup whipping cream
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
3 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup (packed) grated cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro


Bring chicken stock and whipping cream to boil in heavy medium pot. Whisk in canned pumpkin, brown sugar, cumin, chilli powder, coriander and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until soup thickens slightly and flavours blend, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Soup can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over low-medium heat, whisking occasionally.) Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each with cheddar cheese and cilantro and serve.

Summer Strawberry Soup

by Natalie Pelfrey


2 c vanilla yogurt
1/2 c orange juice
2 lbs. fresh strawberries, halved (8 cups)
1/2 c sugar


In a blender, combine the yogurt, orange juice, strawberries and sugar in batches; cover and process until blended. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours

Deliciousness

I'm getting a bit of an inferiority complex (well, I actually already had one, but it's growing) with all the delicious recipes you ladies are posting here. So, I want to share this website:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Funny prose and awesome food.

Things I've tried:
Perfect Pancakes
Butternut Squash Puree
Yogurt Cream with Berries
Twice-Baked Potatoes (made these last night for dinner, with plain yogurt substituted for sour cream--everything else on the table was just fall vegetables, so I felt free to enjoy the absolutely decadent deliciousness of butter, bacon, and cheese on a potato)
Springy Shells (but I used penne).

Things I want to try:
Roasted Ricotta Tomatoes (three of my favorite things in one recipe title--they've got to be good)
Crash Hot Potatoes (recommended by cousin Becca)
Cinnamon Rolls (supposed to be the best)
Chicken Spaghetti (also supposed to be amazingly good)

Healthy yummy lunch wraps

I've been making these for Mike's lunches and he really likes them cause their tasty and not PB&J's. I like the tortilla's cause they don't dry out like bread does.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Tortilla's

Lite Cream Cheese

Shredded Carrot

Diced Onion (I prefer Green onion)

Pepperoni

Deli sliced Chicken Breast

Mustard of Choice ex:Honey Mustard

Baby Spinach

Tooth picks

Method: Spread thin layer of cream cheese on Tortilla, (I sprinkle pepper and chili pwd. on the cream cheese for Mike) sprinkle onion down center of tortilla, sprinkle shredded carrot on entire tortilla, layer pepperoni in thin layer down center of tortilla, put chicken on top of pepperoni, spread mustard on chicken, place spinach on top and role tortilla. I use the Subway trick to role my wraps by using a knife to hold the fillings in place when I role it. If you're packing it for lunch I stick to tooth picks in it before I cut it to hold them together.

Note: I really like the Hickory Farms cranberry mustard but I only buy it at Christmas so I made my own the other day. Mix equal parts canned cranberry sauce and spicy brown mustard in a sauce pan over medium heat and mix till smooth. Mike suggested adding some horseradish. It was pretty good.