Creamy Tomato Soup

My family came to my home last month to celebrate my birthday. It was going to be a cooler day and I thought I'd make some creamy tomato soup. It tends to feed a lot and is a simple recipe to put together. You can also make this ahead of time because it reheats well.

I do need to apologize to them because I forgot an entire ingredient. When I made it for the family I was thinking, "this doesn't make as much as I remember" and then I thought "this doesn't taste as good as I remember." Then I realized why. I forgot the last step.

What do you do when something like this happens? I make it again so I can feel like I accomplished what I set out to do. It helps ease my mind that I can do it right and it helps me remember the recipe in a positive light. *I made a half batch and it was perfect for the two of us.

Creamy Tomato Soup adapted from America's Test Kitchen
Serves 8-10
Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil + more
  
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped - I've made the soup with and without and I like it both ways
• 2 large cans of whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 slices of white bread, broken
  
• 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar
• 3 Cups chicken broth

Directions

1. Heat oil in large pot. Add onion and garlic, cook until onion is translucent and garlic is fragrant.
2. Add tomatoes and bay leaf. Use a potato masher to break up the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. (The Test Kitchen added some red pepper flakes as well but I haven't yet.)
   
3. Add the white bread pieces and brown sugar, cook until the bread is broken down. Remove the bay leaf.
   
4. In 2-3 batches move soup to blender, add 1 TB of oil to each batch, and process until smooth.
5. Return the soup to the heat and add the chicken broth. Once it is warmed through it is ready to serve. Salt and pepper to taste. You can top it with cheese, chives, croutons, etc.

I hope you enjoy the recipe in its entirety.

Roasted Mushrooms and Potatoes

In celebration of our new toaster oven we needed to try something new. I really like some frozen stuffed chicken breasts from the local grocer and it bothers me to heat the entire oven for two hand size chicken pieces. So we cooked the chicken in the toaster oven and the roasted mushroom and potato salad in the standard oven. They finished cooking at the same time and it was a big hit!

The mushrooms had a lot of flavor, the potatoes were just potatoes. The next time we make it, I'm going to try tossing the potatoes with some garlic. I welcome any other delicious suggestions.

Roasted Mushrooms and Potatoes
Ingredients

• 1 package (10.5 ounces) oyster or cremini mushrooms, trimmed (halved if using cremini)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound red new potatoes, quartered
• 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves - I didn't have these on hand, so they were omitted
  
• 2 to 3 teaspoons sherry or red-wine vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss mushrooms with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. On another rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast until mushrooms are browned and potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes, tossing once and rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to a bowl and toss with parsley and vinegar.
   

Weekday Meat and Potatoes

I often make the excuse, "...but I don't have time to make a good meal." Some days it's true. Some days it's all I can do to get off of work at 5, walk to the car, drive to a local eatery, order and eat $1.50 tacos (good tacos but store-bought all the same), and get home to leave again because we are asked to be elsewhere by 6:30. I'm sure many of you understand.

The described scenario works on Tuesday night because tacos are cheap. Wednesday night, I don't have that luxury, and I will often think I don't have time to cook something really good. Maybe I don't, but WE do.

I love to cook with my hubby. I love spending time together in the kitchen talking about anything under the sun. I love feeling like we are both experiencing something new. I love knowing that we are accomplishing something together. I love that he keeps me calm when I want to cry because something isn't according to plan, he calls it "Hama Pizazz". Another thing I love is that when we work together we can create an entire delicious meal and not just a really good main dish and a side that looks like an afterthought.

Last night my hubby manned the grill and created a masterpiece of a pork tenderloin. Other than his innate talent, the secret is: get a quality piece of meat and let it's natural flavor come through. Ingredients: pork tenderloin, coarse salt, freshly ground pepper. That's it.

While he was tending to the manly meat duties I was in the kitchen prepping the farmer's market finds of new potatoes and fresh green beans. I did look to some tried and tested recipes to help me along the way. I will share these with you.

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds red new potatoes, scrubbed well and quartered
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup milk - it calls for whole but I just used 1% because that's what I have on hand
  

Directions:

1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough water to come just below basket; bring to a boil. Add potatoes; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, 12 to 14 minutes.
   

2. Remove steamer basket and set potatoes aside; discard water from pot. In same pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium. Add garlic; cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add potatoes; mash coarsely. Cook, stirring, 1 minute (a film of starch will form on bottom of pot). Stir in milk and remaining tablespoon butter; heat until warmed through, about 1 minute more. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Emeril's Green Bean Salad
Ingredients:

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 pounds thin green beans, trimmed
• 2 small red onions, quartered through root end (leaving root end attached) - I skipped the onions this time because I didn't want to bother but they are a tasty addition

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and prepare a large bowl of ice water. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice; set aside. For onions: Heat grill to medium-low.

2. Cook green beans in boiling water until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer immediately to ice-water bath. Drain beans well, pat dry, and place in bowl. Drizzle with dressing. If not using onions, season with salt and pepper.
   

3. For onions: Toss onion wedges with remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill until lightly charred, 4 to 6 minutes per side. When cool, trim root end off, and thinly slice onions; add to bowl with green beans, and toss to combine.

I apologize for not having pictures to entice your tastebuds but honestly my photography needs some work and photos wouldn't have done it justice, not to mention I was short on time and my mouth was watering.

My hubby and I put this together in about 30 minutes. He's the meat: dark and muscles. I'm the potatoes: starchy white and better with milk. :)

Turkey Bacon vs. Bacon Bacon

I may have already mentioned that turkey bacon is only acceptable in some facets of life. Breakfast is not one of those. I feel that if you are going to the trouble of making breakfast that includes bacon, it should be the real deal. If you want healthy - broil it and have the grease drip into a foil lined pan instead of frying it.

Real bacon needs to be used for the Coronado and Bacon Pea Pasta but turkey bacon is suitable for part of your meatballs or even BLTs. Our garden has provided an abundance of tomatoes this year and combined with a local baker's wheat bread, and local farmer's lettuce BLTs are a must in our home. This weekend we went a little further and purchased some heirloom tomatoes at our local farmers market for the BLT feast and it was a rich, authentic flavor with varied color. It's such a simple meal but so rewarding.

Cooking Strike Ends with Cornbread

As you may or may not have noticed I have been on a cooking hiatus. It wasn't necessarily intentional but I lost my fire for a minute, or more honestly a few weeks. I'll blame the summer heat. But with the delicious Fall harvest that couldn't last long.

So to warm the creative fire we grilled some Turkey Cheddar Brawts - delicious and healthier by a long shot. Because I don't call dawgs "cooking" I tried cooking cornbread on the grill. Did it work? Yes. Would I call it a success? No. I was terribly disappointed in the end result. Mind you I tried the recipe on two separate occasions to give it a fair chance. The first attempt had mixed reviews and it may be liked by some. I, however, felt it was dry and simply not sweet enough. If you'd like to try the original recipe follow the link above.

I will include my FAVORITE cornbread recipe from a kind neighborhood mother. She passed the recipe to me and mine just before our wedding and it has always been a hit!

Ingredients for an 8x8 pan or 10 inch cast-iron skillet:

• 7/8 C Flour - I used to guess about the 1/8 cup increments but have since purchased measuring cups that included an 1/8 cupper
• 3/8 C Cornmeal
• 3/4 tea Salt
• 1 tea Baking Powder
• 3/8 C Sugar
• 3/4 C Evaporated Milk
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 C Oil

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees or heat skillet on grill at low temp for 10 minutes.
2. In a mixing bowl combine flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl beat together the evaporated milk, eggs, and oil.
4. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir only enough to combine.
5. For oven: Pour mixture into greased pan and bake 25 minutes or For Grill: Place a tablespoon of butter on your warm cast-iron pan and move it around the pan, then pour in your mixture and cook covered 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

*You can make a 9 x 13 inch pan in the oven by doubling all the ingredients and cooking for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

It was really nice to cook the bread on the grill. It kept the kitchen cool and it was fun to try something new. I did like that the original recipe made honey butter to melt on top of the bread.

Honey Butter: Combine 2 tablespoons of butter with 1/8 C + 1 tablespoon of honey. For more, simply double or triple the amounts.

The Coronado

We have discovered and closely duplicated one of the most delicious breakfast burritos, found at our local Center Street Grill, the Coronado. The food at "the grill" is yum, the prices are WAY better than ICBM (I Can Barely Move), and there's great service. Even though we make this burrito at home, we still like to go there and enjoy a Saturday morning treat before the market.

Ingredients

• Eggs - we like to combine eggs and egg whites, it's a bit more healthy and seems to give the eggs a good texture.
• Bacon, with salt and pepper - it wouldn't be a proper breakfast without. :)
  
• Avocado, sliced
  
• Tomato, diced or roughly chopped, whatever your preference
  
• Cheddar Cheese, shredded
  
• Cilantro (optional)
  
• Tortillas - This is traditionally served with flour, we like to find a good wheat flour tortilla as well.
  
• Fresh Salsa served on the side- I feel this really makes it. Make your own or invest in a store-bought version you'd find in the refrigerated section. (I have a love for the peach mango salsa)

Directions

1. Prepare your bacon as you like. I enjoy the skillet cooking because it adds extra flavor to the eggs and it all happens in one pan.
2. Scramble your eggs.
3. Warm your tortilla and assemble.

This comes together quickly, is complimented well by hashbrowns or a small pancake, can be made to order and one of my favorites - can be made camping or fishing with one pan and a small stove or light fire.

*Note: We like to use turkey bacon as a replacement in some recipes, this is not a recipe to use turkey bacon. A big part of flavor in this dish is given by REAL bacon.