Bruschetta w/ Tomato and Basil

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil Recipe Print Options Print (no photos) Print (with photos) Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Ingredients 6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped. Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread 1/4 cup olive oil Method 1 Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice. 2 Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat. 3 While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. 4 Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown. Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta. 5 Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer. Or 3-4 for lunch (delicious served with cottage cheese on the side.)

Shrimp in White Wine and Garlic Sauce

Shrimp in White Wine and Garlic Sauce Sarah's Cucina Bella 1/2 cup white wine2 tbsp salted butter4 cloves garlic, minced12 oz frozen cooked shrimp (large – tails off, preferably)salt Combine the wine, butter and garlic in a medium skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the shrimp and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with salt and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Devour.

Easy Roasted Cheddar y Cauliflower

Easy Roasted Cheddar-y Cauliflower Sarah's Cucina Bella serves 4 1 head cauliflower, rinsed1 tbsp olive oilsalt and pepper1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil. Cut the florets from the cauliflower head and arrange on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Slide the cauliflower into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until tender. Be sure to stir once about halfway through. Once the cauliflower is tender, pull it out of the oven and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Funeral Potatoes

Funeral PotatoesRecipe by Our Best Bites (and church kitchens around America) 1 small-medium onion, diced2-3 cloves garlic, minced1-2 Tbsp. butter1 28-oz. bag shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed2 c. sour cream1 10-oz. can cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom) soup2 1/4 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese3/4 tsp. kosher salt1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepperOPTIONAL: Crushed cornflakes, seasoned bread crumbs, crushed potato chips, or crushed Ritz or saltine crackers Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat. Add the thawed hash browns, sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese, salt, and pepper and combine well. Add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Spread the mixture into a 9×13″ (or similar) dish and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the casserole is hot in the center and the cheese is bubbly throughout. Serve as a main dish with a salad and fruit or alongside roasted ham, turkey, chicken, or beef. Makes 6-8 main dish or 10-12 side dish servings.

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary & Garlic
24 Hour Menu
This is a Paula Dean recipe, I tried it once, loved it and now this is the only way I cook our red potatoes!
1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed and dried
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
4 to 6 cloves garlic crushed
1 T. fresh or 1 t. dried rosemary
Preheat oven to 350
Peel a narrow strip from each potato. In a bowl mix the oil, garlic and rosemary; add potatoes and toss well. Transfer potatoes to a shallow baking pan and roast until potatoes are tender when tested with a tip of a knife. Serve hot!!

Sweet Potato Fries

sweet potato fries
24 Hour Menu
I am not a big sweet potato or yam fan...i just really don't like it when veggies taste sweet; unfortunately they are ridiculously good for you! so i was searching for a good recipe i would like when i stumbled onto this one in running magazine. These "fries" were delicious, good for you, and very easy to prepare.1-2 tbps veggie or canola oil (depending on how many potatoes you use)1 large diced sweet potato (this was plenty for one person, the original recipe suggests four)seasoning (i used garlic salt, rosemary, and allspice...you can essentially use whatever you like, but the recipe called for rosemary and paprika)heat oven to 375 Fcoat diced potatoes in oil and seasoningspread out on cooking sheet and cook for 20-30 minutes depending on size of friesI flipped the fries periodically and they did stick to the pan a bit, so if you want to line the pan with foil, parchment paper or spray that would help.

Savory Spiral Stuffed Rolls

Savory Spiral Stuffed Rolls
(melskitchencafe.com)
*Makes 12-16 Rolls
1 recipe roll dough (that yields about 12 rolls) I used this recipe for roll dough
12 oz cream cheese, softened (let's be honest, I only used 8 oz)
1/4 C (1/2stick) butter, softened
2 C chopped ham (leftover ham or deli ham works great - I used deli)
1 1/2 C finely chopped broccoli
2 C shredded cheese (used cheddar)
1 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 C finely chopped green onions
Follow the recipe for your roll dough until the dough has risen. Punch down the dough and roll the dough out into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.
In a small bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Spread the rolled out dough with the butter/ cream cheese mixture. Top with ham, broccoli, cheese, parmesan cheese and green onions. Roll the dough up (think like cinnamon rolls), pinching the seam to seal (hint, that step is important, I kind of forgot and that was a mistake). Slice the roll into about 1 inch segments. Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise until nearly doubled and bake at 350 dgs for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly. [Note: I thought I was special and didn't need to let the rolls rise a second time, not so! Let them rise and life will be better - the second batch that had to rise turned out a lot better).
This was great and delicious and easy, just remember to start early enough so your dough can rise twice before you are hoping to eat!

Autumn Wild Rice

Autumn Wild Rice
(always a huge hit)
2 (6oz) pkgs long grain + wild rice mix
1 med. red or green apple, unpeeled + diced
1 green onion, minced
1/4 cup dried cranberries or golden raisins (I always use craisins)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (in skillet until slightly golden)
1/4 cup butter, melted (I use about 1/2 of that)
2 t. poppy seeds
1 t. grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 T. apple juice

In med sauce pan, cook rice according to pkg directions. In a large serving bowl, combine apple, onion, cranberries, parsley + almonds. Add cooked rice + toss. In a small bowl, combine melted butter to apple juice with whisk. Pour over rice mixture + toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes
5-6 large butter or Yukon Gold potatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 butter
2 T. heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
Peel potatoes & chop into equal size pieces. Put in pot and cover with cold water. Boil until fork tender. Drain. Put back in pot. Add sour cream to s&p. Stir. Set aside.

Minnesota Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad
2 c. cooked chicken
1 t. minced onion
1 tsp. Salt
1 c. green grapes (½)
1/3 c. slivered almonds
1 ½ c. chopped celery
1 can mandarin oranges
1-7 oz. Macaroni rings- cooked
1 ½ c. miracle whip
1 c. whipped cream
Combine Chicken, onion, and salt. Refrigerate several hours. Add all but whip cream. Mix and refrigerate. When ready to serve, fold in whipped cream

Minnesota Cheesy Potatoes

Grandma’s famous ‘Cheesy Potatoes’:
2# chunk hash browns (thawed )- or shredded
½ c. melted butter
1 tsp. Seasoning salt
1 c. cream soup
8 oz. Shredded cheese
8 0z. Sour cream
*Topping: 3 tbsp. Butter (melted )
1 ½ c. crushed corn flake crumbs
Mix together - 9x 13 pan greased
Bake 350 degrees for 90 minutes

Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

roasted parmesan asparagus
(justcookalready.com)
ingredients

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste


directions

toss the asparagus with 1 tbsp. olive oil, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. place the stalks in a baking dish and roast until they're al dente, 10-12 minutes. serve warm.