Tomato Basil Soup

It is snowing still. The storm (why are snow falls called storms? It always seems so gentle and peaceful and romantic) began yesterday morning and is still sleepily covering the world with a sweet excuse to curl up with some nice comfort food and family.

As such, I have already begun to think of what to make for dinner. This weather makes me want to be healthy which is a good thing since there are so many treats around this time of year.

But when I think healthy, family, comfort food, I think tomato soup.

The soup which I have a love/hate relationship with. I grew up with two kinds of tomato soup. Campbell's canned, and Grandma's homemade. I don't think I even need to say which was superior. Since I didn't have Grandma's recipe and was too lazy to make hers, I quit eating tomato soup all together. Campbells was on the bottom of the totem pole for soups I liked.

I got older and would always order tomato soup at restaurants. Divine! And now, I am so excited to share this recipe which we are having for dinner tonight.

It comes from a restaurant in TX called La Madeleine.

La Madeleine Tomato-Basil Soup

Ingredients

4 cups tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped, or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 cups tomato juice
12 - 14 washed fresh basil leaves, plus additional for garnish, chopped (or 1 TBSP dried)
1 cup whipping cream (or half and half)
1/2 cup sweet, unsalted butter, softened
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Crusty bread (optional)

Directions

Combine tomatoes and juice in saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes over
medium-low heat. Cool slightly, then place in a blender or food
processor. Add basil and process to puree; this will have to be done in
batches.

Return mixture to saucepan. Add cream and butter. Stir over low heat
until butter and cream are incorporated. Stir in salt and pepper before
serving. Garnish with more fresh basil and serve with fresh, crusty
bread. Makes 8 servings.

Per serving: Cal 237 Fat 22g Fiber 1g Chol. 67 mg Sodium 165 mg Carbs 10g Calcium 45g

Recipe by: La Madeleine French Bakery & Cafe, Dallas TX

Buen Provecho!

Mexican Rice

On Sunday I gave a lesson on time management. I used rice and water as part of my object lesson then realized I had a ton left over. Not wanting to waste it, I took it home and cooked it. Needless to say, cooking with rice has been on my mind quite a bit lately.

Yesterday I found a recipe and used it as a guide for dinner. I was worried it wouldn't be very good, but it was actually delicious!

What You Need:

4 cups cooked brown rice
1 can black beans drained
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes drained
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups cheese
spinach leaves

What to Do:

Preheat oven to 350*.
Spread rice in a casserole dish. Mix in seasoning, tomatoes, sauce, beans and 1 cup cheese. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
Bake until cheese is melted and all is heated through- about 20 minutes.
Serve on bed of spinach.

This would also make a great burrito stuffer. I think we are going to try that out tonight... or enchilada! That would be yummy too. At any rate, enjoy, and

Buen Provecho!

Yiddish Food

I am so excited to try this recipe! It is in the oven as we speak and I can't wait to try it. In honor of Hanukkah, I had to try this traditional Jewish dish. I hear this is something that is served for Hanukkah and since I love trying new things, I thought I would give this a go.

Cheese Blintz Casserole

What You need:

16 oz. cottage cheese

16 oz. cream cheese

4 beaten eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup flour

2 sticks butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp. baking powder

pinch salt

juice of 1 lemon

What to do:

1.) Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13 Pyrex.

2.) Mix the filling in 1 bowl: cream the cream cheese & cottage cheese. Add 2 eggs, 1 cup of the sugar, salt, and lemon juice.

3.) In ANOTHER bowl, mix the batter: butter, 1/2 cup of the sugar, 2 eggs, flour, baking powder, milk, & vanilla.

4.) Pour 1/4 of the batter in, then all of the filling. Top with remaining batter.

5.) Bake for 45-60 minutes. Top should be slightly browned.

You can serve this with fruit on top, or sour cream or even applesauce. Use your imagination! Enjoy!

Buen Provecho!

Boston Clam Chowder

I cannot believe I didn't have the recipe for this posted! And clam chowder is one of my all time favorite foods. Tsk, tsk. I came to this blog looking for my recipe, and was very annoyed and shocked when I realized I had not posted it! And since I am no longer pregnant, I no longer have any excuse for not. Therefore, I decided it was time to repent and fix the problem.

I am not a seafood person. In fact, I really hate seafood. Disgusting. But I think that is because I live inland and so none of the seafood is actually fresh, and so it smells and tastes really bad. However, I have always loved clam chowder. Not the clams so much (they just seem to be living rubber bands when you chew them. Have you ever chewed on a rubber band? I used to when I was in elementary school. I still remember the awkward texture.) but everything else about the soup was just heavenly! I would always eat way more than I should, and I enjoyed it every single time. Scrumptious!

When I got married I didn't think I would be making it very often as I am not a milk fan. I mean I drink milk when I have oreos or brownies, and I eat it with my cereal, but that is about the extent of my milk consumption. That being said, I didn't think I would ever buy enough milk to make this soup. But guess what, I did last week. And so, not wanting the milk to go bad, I made clam chowder!

source

What You Need:
1 C onion finely chopped
1 C finely diced celery
2 C finely diced potatoes
2 cans (6 ½ oz) undrained clams
¾ C butter
¾ C flour
3 quarts milk
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper


What To Do:

In a large frying pan drain clams onto vegetables, and add enough water until vegetables are barely covered. Cook until tender. In a large pot, stir flour and butter until bubbly. Remove from heat and add cream, mixing until smooth. Add milk. Return to heat to cook. Stir constantly until thick and smooth. As it is a milk base, it tends to burn easily. Constant stirring will prevent that. When it reaches your desired consistency, add vegetables and juices as well as salt and pepper, seasoning to taste.

This is delicious with a bread bowl, or even just a grilled cheese sandwich. Best if eaten on a cold winter day. Or in the fall. Or when there is a slight chill in the air in the Spring. Ooh, it is also delicious on a summer night. Whenever you decide to eat it

Buen Provecho!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Jeffrey simply adores Italian foods. If he could have married pasta, I think he would have. He really does have a love affair with carbs, though. If I cook lots of veggies for dinner, he will eat them, say he is full, and be back 20 minutes later for a sandwich because he has to have carbs to feel full.
So I try to make lots of Italian foods for him. Lasagna is one of his favorites, but finding a good vegetarian lasagna recipe is quite difficult. So we just don't eat lasagna often.

Until now.

I just found the most divine butternut squash lasagna recipe ever! We both absolutely loved it and I want to make it often. But you can't go into it expecting it to taste just like lasagna. For starters there are no tomatoes in it at all, so the marinara sauce taste wont be there. But as I was eating it I felt really good. Not heavy like I generally do after eating Italian. So, I hope you enjoy it, as it has become one of my faaaaaaavorite recipes.

Source

Butternut Squash Lasagna

What You Need:

2 medium butternut squashes

1 onion, chopped fine

1 1/2 cups apple cider

1/2 t. white pepper

3/4 t. ground sage

1 t. sea salt

1/4 t. grated nutmeg

3 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese*

1 egg

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesano-Reggiano

8 oz. fresh mozzarella, break up with your hands or grate

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 package of no-boil lasagna noodles

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

olive oil

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 400*. Slice your butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and place cut side down on a oiled baking sheet. Alternately you can cook the squash in the microwave if you short on time (just microwave cut side down until tender). Roast the squash for 1 hour. When cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh into a large bowl.

While the squash is cooking, heat a skillet and then add a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the onion until beginning to brown, when the onion softens add the minced garlic. Add the cider to the skillet and scrape up the browned bits in the pan. Add to bowl that the squash has an appointment with as well. Add the white pepper, sage and sea salt. Mash it all up with the squash (just like potatoes). It should have a easily-spreadable consistency- think really soft mashed potatoes. If you need additional liquid add a bit of water.

Get your 9x13 baking dish and place all of the noodles inside. Cover with hot tap water and let sit while you prepare the rest (at least 5 minutes). This guarantees only perfect, non-crunchy noodles.

In a separate bowl mix the ricotta cheese, egg, 1 cup of the Parmesan, and nutmeg.

Adjust the oven temperature to 375*. Spread a thin layer of the squash mix. Place four noodles down, slightly overlapping each other. Layer squash, cheese mix and then some fresh mozzarella, noodles and repeat. End the final layer: squash, noodles, cheese mix, mozzarella and the remaining Parmesan.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve with toasted hazelnuts sprinkled over the top.

*If you are unable to procure ricotta cheese or just need to use up what is already in the fridge go for the cottage cheese; but (and this is important to fool the naysayers and get a better end product) pulse the cottage cheese with a hand blender, in a blender or a food processor until it looks just like ricotta. Ta-da.

Just a few notes, I accidently bought acorn squash instead of the butternut, but it still was great. I imagine you can use virtually any type of winter squash with great results. Also, I used a colby jack cheese because that is what I had on hand.

It is absolutely divine, and I am sure you will love it. Just give it a try!

Buen Provecho!