Baked Tomatoes

Baked Tomatoes

 So this is what my windowsills look like: 

 

 To make summer or at least my summer tomatoes last as long as I can I have picked them and have them on my windowsills.  This means of course that I have been thinking of ways to use tomatoes.  I have made salsa, salads, sauce, you name it.  I came up with this the other night and it is simple but really tasty.  Would go great with a steak or pretty much anything as a side.  I used pretty large tomatoes to alter this to a little less if you are using smaller tomatoes. 

• 2 - 1/2 inch slices of tomato per person
• 1 Tbs mayo per slice
• 1 Tbs shredded mozzarella per slice
• 1 Tbs buttered breadcrumbs per slice (2 Tbs melted butter to 1/2 c breadcrumbs)
• 1/8 tsp Italian seasoning per slice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put the slices of tomato in a baking dish and spread on the mayo then sprinkle with mozzarella, breadcrumbs, then the Italian seasoning.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are slightly crisp and brown.  Season with a bit or salt and pepper before serving. 

I'm back with Carbonara!

So I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging partially due to just the craziness of farm life and other things but mainly we have been cooking up a new addition to the family.  I am settled into things now though and want to get back to cooking and creating recipes that I love.  

I want to kick it off with my favorite pasta dish of all time!  This is a great version of carbonara and it has mushrooms which is also a favorite in our home, so it is fabulous in my opinion.  Hope you like it as well.  To make a basic carbonara you could just leave the mushrooms out.  Just be ready to eat when you are doing this because it is the best when it is eaten at once. 

Mushroom Carbonara

Makes 2 hearty servings:

• 2/3 pound linguine
• 4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
• 2 c slices mushrooms, I used Crimini but you could do one or a combination of varieties. 
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2/3 c heavy cream
• 1/2 c Parmesan, plus some extra for topping
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• salt to taste

Get a large pot of water boiling and cook pasta.  In a medium sized skillet get your bacon cooking and saute until almost crisp.  Then add your mushrooms and cook until tender and bacon is crisp.

In a small bowl whisk to combine yolks, cream, Parmesan and black pepper.  Set aside. 

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and put back into the pot and sent on the burner but have the burner turned off. Toss in your bacon and mushrooms.  Put the yolk and cream mixture in and toss well.  If it is real thick add a bit more cream, you want it to be a bit creamy because the pasta will absorb some of the sauce. Taste and season with salt if needed.  Serve immediately topped with additional Parmesan. 

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

For the local county fair I decided to invite a couple little friends over to enter in the Baking Buddies competition. We had a great time in the kitchen together and made some tasty brownies! It is so easy to make them from scratch and no need to use a mix but you could if you like and just do the steps for the topping.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

• 5 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
• 1 stick butter
• 3 Tbs cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 c sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 c flour 

• 1/2 tsp salt

•  1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbs creamy peanut butter
• 3 Tbs Reeses Pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9X9 glass baking dish and then line in one direction with foil and then oil again. In a small bowl combine both chocolates, butter and cocoa. Microwave for 1 minute a stir, then 30 seconds longer or until all melted together. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl mix together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. When well combined add the chocolate mixture and blend together. Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder then add to the other ingredients and stir until just combined. Spread evenly in your prepared pan. Dollop peanut butter a teaspoon at a time evenly across the top of the batter. With a butter knife draw your knife through the batter about 1 inch apart lengthwise and then crosswise to make a swirl. Sprinkle evenly with the Reese's and bake for 35 minutes until set but some crumbs still adhere to a toothpick. Let cool for an hour or two and then pull from pan by foil and cut.

Truffled Corn on the Cob

This is a great grilling recipe now that corn is starting to be in season. You don't have to use truffle items for this, I just have an affinity for them. You could use different grill seasonings and lime juice instead of the oil. Have fun with it and you can impart a lot of good flavor.

Truffled Corn on the Cob

• 4 ears sweet corn
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
  
• 1/2 tsp salt or truffle salt
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp truffle oil

Shuck back ears of corn careful to leave them attached. Clean all of the silks out and then rinse. Dry thoroughly and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients and mix to a smooth paste. Rub generously over the corn. Bring the husk back over the corn and cover back as much as possible. Place on a hot grill turning occasionally for 15-20 minutes.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Strawberry Banana Muffins

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 c sour cream or yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 c strawberries, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put liners in a standard muffin pan or jumbo like I used above. With a mixer beat the butter and sugar until creamed and then add the eggs one at a time until well combined. Combine the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until light and mixed well. Add slowly to the butter mixture and mix well. Add the banana, sour cream and vanilla until just mixed together. Fold in the strawberries. Divide amongst the muffin pan filled about 2/3 full. Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick has some crumbs clinging.
Great served warm!

Breakfast Burritos

So my lovely chickens are finally laying eggs! I have been really excited about it actually and above is a photo of my first carton of eggs. I decided I would make some lighter breakfast burritos with ingredients from my garden and fresh eggs! They turned out pretty yummy so I thought I would share. Sausage or bacon would be a good addition but I left them without, we did have breakfast sausage on the side though, can't be too vegetarian in my house:)
Enjoy!

Breakfast Burritos

• 4 flour tortillas


• 1 c grated cheddar cheese


• 1 Tbs butter
  


• 4 green onions, chopped


• 2 Tbs red bell pepper, chopped
  


• 2 Tbs cilantro, chopped


• 6 eggs, beaten to a froth
  


• Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat melt butter. Saute green onion and bell pepper until tender. Add the seasoned eggs and stir occasionally until cooked but not dry. Add the cilantro and stir till combine and remove from heat. Lay out your tortillas on a platter and divide cheese amongst them evenly. Place int he microwave for 30 seconds to melt the cheese. Divide your eggs between the tortillas and roll up burrito style. Serve with salsa, and sausage links on the side if you wish!

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

Well for LaPine this year over the 4th I made this for dessert and it turned out well and could be expanded well for a crowd. It was also fairly light which is nice when it is really warm outside. This is versatile because you could use any fruit really. I also made it in 13X9 pans in a single layer and it worked great for picnic fair.

Strawberry Shortcake Trifle

• 1 loaf pound cake sliced, homemade or I used store bought frozen at LaPine
• 2 cups vanilla wafers
• 2 pints Strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 4 Tbs sugar, divided
  
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 1 large box of vanilla pudding, prepared and chilled to set

Combine your strawberries with 2 Tbs sugar and set aside. Whip the cream to soft peaks and add remaining sugar then whip to stiff peaks. In your trifle dish you will make 2 full single layers in the following order.

Pound cake, Strawberries, Pudding, Vanilla Wafers, Whipped Cream

Layer together and I garnished with more sliced strawberries and mint. Make sure you can refrigerate it for at least an hour before serving.