Roasted Tomato Soup

Yeah, I know, everybody has a bajillionty tomato soup recipes. This one is a variation on the usual tomato basil. I made it while I was visiting my parents, and the fam snarfed it down to the dregs (including the younglings, of which one is a particularly picky eater). I glommed a couple of recipes together, and this is what I came up with. I think you could use a variety of vegetables, like some celery or a parsnip.  


2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 c. chopped carrots

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 bay leaves

2–3 c. chicken stock

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 c. half & half

1) Preheat oven to 450F. Drain tomatoes, reserve liquid. Spread over jellyroll pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast 15–20 minutes until caramelized. 

2) While tomatoes are cooking, heat 1/4 c. olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté onions 3–5 minutes, add rest of the vegetables, and cook for 10 minutes. When the tomatoes are finished, add the reserved liquid and the roasted tomatoes to the pan.

3) Add 2 c. stock (use more as needed to thin when puréeing for desired consistency), butter, bay leaves, and half and half. Simmer until the veggies are soft.

4) Remove bay leaves and purée. Season with additional salt and pepper, and possible a splash of lemon juice as desired. 

Indonesian Noodles

Once upon a time I read a review of a cookbook called Comfortably Yum, by Luisa M. Perkins. The review was so complimentary that I immediately looked up the cookbook on Amazon, and without thinking added it to my wish-list.

Fast forward who knows how long, to this past Christmas. Mark hacked my Amazon account to see what I had on my wish-list, not knowing that I never use it. Oh, except for that one time. And you can guess what I opened on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, I had no recollection of this book, so when I saw it I said, Oh, that looks neat. And Mark was slightly flummoxed when it became clear that I didn't remember the book.

Aside from all of that, this is a great cookbook. It is full of comfort foods, and a random assortment at that. I have only tried two recipes so far, but I am looking forward to trying all of them. This one is for Indonesian noodles and is incredibly quick, easy, and delicious.

1 lb. thin spaghetti or linguini (I used regular spaghetti)
2 T. sesame oil
1 c. chunky peanut butter
1/2 c. soy sauce
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
4 scallions, chopped (didn't have scallions; used plain old green onions)
2 c. cooked chicken, shredded or sliced thin
1 T. sesame seeds

Cook the pasta as directed; drain and toss with sesame oil.
In a large bowl, combine the PB, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger. Add it to the pasta and mix well, then add the chicken. I waited until the bowls were served up before garnishing each with the green onions/scallions and sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature. Serves 8.

I halved this recipe for our little family and it turned out great. The green onions and sesame seeds really added the finishing touch to this dish-- don't skip those. I loved this and will definitely make again. It beats out another Asian noodle recipe I have made that has pork instead of chicken in it, so I am going to try this with pork next. YUM.

Slow-Cooker French Dips

Isn't the best kind of meal one you can stick in the crock pot in the morning and forget about until 7pm? This recipe is super easy and delicious to boot.

3.5 lb chuck roast
1 lg can beef broth
1 cup red wine (I substituted apple juice)
1 can condensed French onion soup (I substituted a packet of the dry mix)
1 T garlic salt
salt & pepper to taste

Trim the excess fat off the roast. Rub it with salt and pepper. Place all the other ingredients in the crock pot, then add the roast. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Serve on toasted kaiser rolls with a slice of provolone or swiss, and dip in a bowl of the au jus from the crockpot.

Your tummy and honey can thank me later.

Yes, you can.

Have potato chips that are virtually fat free anytime you want, that is.

If you have some

And some

and one of these

then you are ready!

Seriously.

Step 1: Spray a large plate (or microwave safe flat surface of some kind) with cooking spray. Don't skip this part or your chips will stick to the plate.

Step 2: Peel your potatoes.

Step 3: Slice potatoes thin-- the thinner the better, unless you want thick chips, which will take longer.

Step 4: Arrange potato slices on the sprayed plate, so they are not overlapping. Overlapping will hinder the crisping process. :)

Step 5: Spray over the top of the potatoes with the cooking spray.

Step 6: Microwave those bad boys until they start to brown up. You'll definitely want to let them go until they start getting brown, otherwise they won't be crispy. My 1000 watt microwave only needed about 5 and a half minutes for my first batch. For some reason the next batch took longer. Adjust cooking time depending on your wattage and how crispy you want your chips.

Step 7: Sprinkle with salt or garlic salt or cayenne pepper or Italian seasoning or... you get the picture.

Step 8: Let them cool just so you don't burn your tongue, and ENJOY!! These are amazing.

Oreo Mint Ice Cream

Happy ice cream day! I adapted this from a recipe that claimed to be just like the Ben and Jerry's ice creams. It is soooo creamy and delicious.

3/4 C coarsely crumbled Oreos or Trader Joe's sandwich cookies
3 large eggs
3/4 C + 1 TBS white cane sugar
2 C cream
1 C whole milk
1-2 tsp mint extract or flavor

*Note mint extracts are not created equally! Mint oil is usually much stronger than extract. I used something in between--Simply Organic Mint flavor which is a combination of mint oil and sunflower oil. I used 1 tsp.


Mix egg and sugar with whisk over mixture over double boiler, until very pale and thick

Cool in the fridge for an hour, stirring occasionally.

Add milk, cream to the egg mixture, mix well. Add peppermint extract 1/4 tsp at a time, testing the flavor after each addition (some extracts are much stronger than others). If you like green mint ice cream (and I actually do despite my dislike of artificial dyes), this is the time to add a few drops of green coloring.

Cool in the fridge for another hour or two until ready to freeze. While egg mixture cools, chop or crumble oreos in to coarse chunks. Chill them in the freezer.

Freeze the cream mixture in an ice cream maker. When it is just about done, add oreo chunks and stir. Serve immediately for soft serve, or freeze in a deep freezer overnight for firm ice cream.

Dark and Chewy Hot Fudge

I really love the hot fudge at old style ice cream shops (or should I say shoppes?). The kind that is gooey and a little chewy once it chills on the ice cream. The only problem is, I usually like my fudge a little darker than the stuff they serve. After searching and testing, this is what I came up with: It has the texture that is more like goo than syrup, with a dark, creamy, taste that's not too sweet and melts in your mouth.

6 oz dark chocolate of your choice
1/4 C cocoa powder (I use a combo of regular and Dutch processed)
2 TBS butter
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp Vanilla or coffee extract

Chop chocolate into chunks. Put all ingredients in a saucepan on medium low heat and stir until melted. If you like even chewier hot fudge, cook it for a few minutes after its melted. Use it to make old fashioned ice cream sundaes. Store it in an airtight jar in the fridge. I've never had it go bad on me.

Whole Wheat Bread

This is my go-to whole wheat bread recipe. I really like that it makes enough dough for multiple loaves, so I can store the extra and pull it out and let it rise when I want a fresh loaf. It's also good if you need to make multiple loaves all at once.

This isn't for people who don't like some serious, dense whole wheat bread. It's not so heavy as to be inedible, but it ain't Wonderbread, which is in my humble opinion an excellent thing.

Take the time to let it rise twice, as it makes it a lot less dense. It's worth the extra time. The actual amount of time you have to pay attention to the dough is fairly minimal, but plan on the whole process taking somewhere around 4 or 5 hours from start to out of the oven.