Caramelizing Onions and Peppers (without a ton of oil or sugar)

I love caramelizing onions and peppers. It brings out a flavor that just doesn't compare to their regular sauteed versions. They are fantastic on pizzas and of course our favorite, chicken fajitas. As you will see, with a few tips and tricks, you'll have nice soft caramelized veggies in no time and without a ton of oil or added sugar.

Caramelizing Onions and Peppers (without a ton of oil or sugar)   Printable Recipe

1 large onion

1 red pepper (or yellow or orange)

1 green pepper

oil

salt

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Parmesan Cheese

If you are already grilling other foods you might as well throw some corn on while you are at it and save heating up your kitchen. Now let's talk cheese.  I saw a chef on TV once put Parmesan on his corn and I thought he was nuts.  Turns out the saltiness of the Parmesan is just what this corn needs.  Try it, you won't be disappointed. 

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Parmesan Cheese                            Printable Recipe

Sweet Corn (Husk On)
Butter
Grated Parmesan cheese
Black Pepper (optional)

Dehydrating Tomato Skins to Make Tomato Powder

Waste not, want not!

So you've made some Roasted Marinara Sauce and have some extra bits of skins, seeds, and other goodies that didn't make the cut? It's really simple to make tomato powder.  The uses are endless. Mix even amounts of powdered tomato and water to make your own tomato paste.  Add the powder to soups and stews for some added tomato flavor. I thought this would also be good added to meatloaf mixtures.  I am sure you can come up with even more ideas!

Dehydrating Tomato Skins to Make Tomato Powder

Roasted Marinara Sauce Leftover Bits
OR
Tomato skins removed during your canning process.

Roasted Marinara Sauce

Some of you have asked for my roasted marinara recipe and so I will offer a guide on how I make it. There are no exact measurement as each batch can be different depending on the intensity of the flavor of your tomatoes, onions, and peppers.  I make each batch and taste it until I am satisfied. 

You'll notice no garlic in my recipe.  Italian ladies everywhere are shaking their heads.  You are welcome to add it to your sauce.  My husband cannot have garlic so I do not use it and it is still very tasty.

Roasted Marinara Sauce

Red and Yellow Tomatoes (need to be mostly reds due to acid level needed)
Green  or Yellow Peppers (1-2 per baking dish)
Sweet Yellow Onions (1-2 per baking dish)
Olive Oil
Fresh Basil (good handful if using 3 baking dishes)
Fresh Oregano (small handful if using 3 baking dishes)
Fresh Parsley (optional) (small handful if using 3 baking dishes)
Salt
Sugar
Cayenne Pepper (few dashes per batch)

Baked Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries

First time we had these at a restaurant my child called them "orange fries" and they were fried.  We enjoy having the orange fries at home but I didn't want the mess or calories of frying them so I bake them.  Then we wanted more flavor and we love Parmesan so a little salty sprinkle of cheese and some fun spices and voila, one of our favorite side dishes!

Baked Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries 

1-1/2 to 1-3/4 pounds sweet potatoes (yellow and/or orange)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Sprinkle of paprika

2 dashes cayenne pepper

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Add olive oil to a medium bowl, mix in paprika and cayenne pepper. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into approximately 3/8" sticks. You want to keep your pieces the same size so they cook the same. Toss to coat.

Baked Curry Cauliflower Bites

Baked Curry Cauliflower Bites

1 head cauliflower, washed and cut into cut bite size pieces

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon curry powder

3-4 dashes cayenne powder

good pinch of salt

10 drops lemon juice

Mix together all but the cauliflower.

Add cauliflower and toss until coated.

Lay on cookie sheet (or I used a baking stone) so the bites are not touching.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes flipping half way through the cooking until they are soft and caramelized.

 Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetables

Your house will smell so good as this cooks! Try different squashes to suit your taste. These potatoes were raised in my garden.  Yukon gold potatoes are my favorite since they keep their shape when stirred and/or flipped around.

Roasted Vegetables                                                                      Printable Recipe

1 medium sweet potato

3 medium Yukon gold potatoes

1/2 medium yellow onion

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt (more later to taste)

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bow, stir together seasonings, oil, and vinegar.

Peel and chop your sweet potatoes into 3/4 to 1" cubes.  Chop your Yukon golds the same way, leaving the peel on those. Cut your onion half into two slices and then 3/4 to 1" pieces. Add to marinade. Toss to coat veggies.

 T

Dump onto jelly roll pan and spread into an even layer. Cook for 20 minutes, flip or stir and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.  

They are going to look a little browned but that is the delicious caramelization of the veggies and the balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle on more salt to taste.

Homemade Salsa

Everyone has their own tastes and interpretations when it comes to salsa.  I was given a salsa recipe from a friend.   It contained quite a bit of sugar.  We don't use much sugar so I went on with the task of lowering the sugar. It also contained a thickener that dulled the color of our salsa.  I removed it so our salsa is more like fresh salsa, but canned. 

Taste your salsa before you can it.  If you wouldn't eat it fresh, you won't like it canned. 

Homemade Salsa

20 cups chopped peeled and seeded tomatoes*
1 to 1-1/2 cups minced onions (onions can be strong so ease in slow)
1-1/2 cups minced green peppers
7 banana peppers, minced
5-6 jalapenos (if they are hot, use less --if you can't tell start off with fewer, you can always add more), minced
2 Tablespoons sugar
2-1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
5-6 dashes of red cayenne pepper
1-1/2 cups vinegar
2 Tablespoons salt

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

This is a great way to use some of your fresh garden tomatoes. 

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

1 unbaked pie crust

4 ounces chèvre (goat cheese) (plain if using pesto otherwise chose a flavor you like or stir in your favorite fresh herb)

pesto

tomatoes

salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Place sliced tomatoes on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt.  Allow to sit for a little bit and  the tomatoes will let loose of its juices. If you slice them thinner they will also let go of more juices. Dab with a paper towel.

I decided to go half and half on my base.  I stirred a little pesto into one half of the goat cheese.  Use as much or as little as you like.  We like pesto so I used a fair amount.

The other half I mixed in fresh chopped parsley.  We did not think it had enough flavor so using more herbs would be a good idea or just stick to pesto.

Place unbaked pie crust into your pie dish. I wanted to use my stoneware pie dish for a crisper crust.  It is a deep dish so that is why my tart looks small compared to it.

Spread goat cheese onto bottom of pie crust.

 Layer drained tomatoes.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until crust is light brown and tomatoes are soft. If crust is browning too quickly, cover with a piece of aluminum foil or pie crust shield.  

Remove from oven and let set 5 to 10 minutes.  Eat warm or allow to cool and eat later.  

Perfectly Pan Fried Potatoes

Yukon gold potatoes are the best potato for this.  The skins are thin so you can leave them on and the inside of the potato stays firm when you cook it but is so creamy and buttery!

Perfectly Pan Fried Potatoes

Yukon Gold potatoes
Olive Oil
Butter
Salt
Cast Iron Pan

Chunk your potatoes up.  If they are small I quarter them.  If they are a little larger I cut in half, then in thirds, and halves of those.  These were probably 3/4 inch slices.

Put potatoes in a pot with cold water and some salt.   Bring to a boil and cook until almost done.  Drain and let air dry a little.

Heat up cast iron pan good and warm.  Drizzle in some olive oil and put a pat of butter in the pan. 

Add potato chunks.  Allow to brown on one side and then flip.  Don't play with your potatoes too much or they will fall apart.

Makes a great side dish for any meal or serve with with the Breakfast Slam!

Green Pasta

Nice change up from the usual marinara sauced pasta.  My youngest daughter named the dish.

Green Pasta

frozen or fresh ravioli
OR
other favorite pasta shape
or gnocchi
(reserve some of the pasta water from cooked pasta)
basil pesto
grated Parmesan

Cook your pasta and drain until most of the liquid is out.  Sprinkle on some Parmesan and add a dollop or two or three of the pesto.  Stir.  There should be enough liquid to mix with the pesto and Parmesan to make a lovely green sauce.  Feel free to serve with more Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Maple Glazed Acorn Squash

I like these acorn squash. What a pretty shape, almost like a flower.  No measuring needed for this dish but I will give you some approximates to start with.  It's almost a no-brainer to make!

Maple Glazed Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

Cut acorn squash in half.  Dig out seeds.  Slice into 1 inch slices. Set aside. 

In a gallon zip shut bag add the olive oil, salt, and maple syrup.  Smoosh the bag with your hands a little to mix the ingredients.  Add your squash and zip it shut.  Shake the bag a little to coat the squash.  Remove squash from bag and place on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, flipping halfway through.  Squash is done when you can poke with with a fork and it is soft. 

Pin it:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/273593746085699435/

Rigatoni Macaroni Salad

This is Aunt Connie's recipe that my mother-in-law Pat always made.  (Not to be confused with my mom Connie, even though she is an aunt. ;) )

Rigatoni Macaroni Salad

1 pound box rigatoni macaroni (or other favorite pasta shape, gluten free would work too)

3/4 cup olive oil

2 cups sugar

2 cups vinegar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 Tablespoon salt

1 onion

1 green pepper

1 small jar pimento (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions.  I used penne today. Don't cook it until it's mush, it needs to stand up to marinading in the liquid.  Drain off hot water.  You can cool pasta faster by running cool water on it.  Drain again.

Mix together oil, sugar, vinegar, pepper, and salt. Isn't my organic olive oil a pretty color?

Chop green pepper (or use any color you like.)

Chop onion (use yellow or even red as I had on hand.)

I never seem to have pimento on hand so always leave it out. Other pepper colors would be so pretty in here!

Combine with pasta and then dump oil mixture over the top. 

Stir.  Let set for 24 hours, stirring occasionally to be sure all the pasta soaks in the flavors. If you must make it the same day do it in the morning so it at least has the day to sit.

You can store this in the fridge for a while since it has vinegar in it.  Sometimes I cook a little more pasta and throw it back in the liquid that filters out when I scoop up the pasta/veggies.

Rosso Verde Pizza

Pistachios on pizza?!  No way!  I thought the same thing when my husband brought it home from the pizza place.  But between it, the sweet red peppers, and the pesto, it works.  You must try it!  This is my version. We came up with a fun name, it means Red Green Pizza in Italian.

Rosso Verde Pizza

grilled pizza dough or quick pizza dough

pesto

shredded mozzarella (or a blend of your favorite pizza cheeses)

sauteed diced red peppers

pistachios 

For this recipe I used pre-grilled pizza dough and cooked it in the oven.  For fresh grilled pizza follow instructions on the grilled pizza dough page.  You can also use the quick pizza dough recipe and top it.  

Preheat oven and stone to 450 degrees.  Place frozen pizza dough or rolled our fresh dough on a pizza paddle or flat cookie sheet. Frozen pizza doesn't need cornmeal, it won't stick but the fresh DOES.  Spread on the pesto. Use as much or as little as you like. 

Sprinkled on your grated cheese.

Add the red peppers.

Now, on to adding the pistachios.  We left ours whole but you could chop them up a little bit if you want but don't obliterate them.  You want the crunch.

Slide it onto the pizza stone. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.  Careful to watch your crust.  Brown is nice but at the end can quickly be too brown.

Slice and enjoy!