Tomatoes at last!

Our tomatoes have been slowly ripening. This means dinners like BLTs (with added avocado and bleu cheese..yum).. and this delicious treat. I fed the kids mac and cheese and ate this for dinner tonight:

Baked Caprese Salad (or tomato cheese toast)

adapted from Giada Delaurentis

Ingredients
slices of crusty bread (today I used ciabatta)
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sliced tomatoes
sliced fresh mozzarella
fresh basil leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Arrange the sliced baguette bread on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake until the bread is pale golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn! Remove from the oven. Top each slice of bread with a slice of tomato and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top each slice of tomato with a slice of mozzarella and sprinkle with salt. Return the baking sheet to the oven until the cheese and tomato are warmed, about 5 minutes. Top each toast with a basil leaf. Using the brush, drizzle the remaining olive oil over the basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.

*photo from foodnetwork.com

Homemade granola

I have been trying to make better breakfasts for the kids before school. I pulled out the recipe for granola from mother. Caleb was having it for an after school snack with vanilla yogurt, so tasty.

So here it goes

Put 3 cups of oats in a 2 quart dish and microwave for 2 minutes. To the oats add and mix

1/3 c wheat germ
1/3 c coconut
1/3 c sesame seeds
1/3 c nuts (I used walnuts because that's what I had and I doubled the amount so I used 2/3 c and would probably add more next time because I always pick the nuts out, they are so good.)
1/3 c brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/3 c sunflower seeds

To dry ingredients add
1/3 c vegetable oil or butter (used canola oil)
1/4 c honey
1 t vanilla

Mix until well coated. Cook in microwave on power level 7 for 7 minutes. Stir twice. If you want to add raisins add 1/2 c and cook 1-2 minutes more on full power.

Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake

This ice cream cake from Kraft Foods is a surefire way to impress your friends. It really couldn't be easier to assemble, but when you pull it out of the freezer you will be serenaded with a chorus of "oohs" and "ahhs" and "wow, you actually made that?"

• 1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
• 1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed, divided
• 1 pkg. (3.9 oz) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
• 8 Oreo Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Pour fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup Cool Whip. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in chopped cookies.

Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long piece of foil; top with half the Cool Whip mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining Cool Whip. Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet. Freeze 4 hours.

Chipotle Mayo

This is a great little variation on an otherwise ordinary condiment. We like to use it on burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches.


• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 chipotle peppers, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp adobo sauce
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• Salt and pepper to taste


Cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can typically be found on the Mexican food aisle at the grocery store. You can dictate the spiciness of the mayo by the pepper seeds. For example, when we had the parents over for dinner, I sliced the peppers open and scraped out all the seeds first. But when we are cooking for ourselves we leave the seeds in since we are partial to a little spice.

Chicken Enchilada Mummies

Photo is from the Betty Crocker website.

I have been wanting a really good enchilada recipe. In Oct of 2007 I found a little Halloween cookbook at the check out stand. There was a recipe for enchilada mummies in there, the enchiladas looked so good so I came home and looked all over the internet trying to find the recipe with no luck, so I forked up the 4 bucks and bought the little cookbook. I made the enchiladas and they were so good. It is now my go to enchilada recipe. This week Christie and I both couldn't find the recipe and were dying, we can't lose this recipe. Then we found them and said we need to get this on the blog. So again I googled the recipe and this time I found it, oh well.

It makes 1 9x13 pan and a 8x8. The original recipe has roasted red peppers in it which I have never added and last night when I made them I forgot the green chilis.

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 1/2 lb), cut into 1-inch pieces(I like my chicken shredded so I either cook it in the oven or poach it and then shred it.

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers (from a jar)(I have never put these in)
1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles
3 cups finely shredded Mexican cheese blend (12 oz)
2 cans (10 oz each) Old El Paso® enchilada sauce
12 Old El Paso® flour tortillas (8 inch)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) and 8x8-inch (2-quart) baking dishes with cooking spray.
2. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and onion; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Stir in cumin, garlic salt and oregano. Cook 1 minute longer; drain if necessary. Pour chicken mixture into large bowl.
3. Reserve 2 tablespoons sour cream in small bowl; refrigerate. Into bowl of chicken mixture, stir remaining sour cream, roasted peppers, chiles and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese blend.
4. Spread heaping 3/4 cup chicken mixture in center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; arrange 8 seam-side down in 13x9-inch baking dish and 4 seam-side down in 8x8-inch baking dish.
5. Top each baking dish evenly with enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Spray 2 sheets of foil with cooking spray; cover each baking dish with foil, sprayed side down.
6. Bake about 50 minutes or until enchiladas are hot. Place reserved 2 tablespoons sour cream in Ziploc® Brand snack bag. Seal bag; cut off 1 corner of bag. Squeeze bag to pipe eyes and mouth on each mummy. ( I did make them mummies once)

They are really good served with fresh tomatoes, guacamole or sour cream, and cilantro on top.

Chicken Souvlaki Gyros

These make for a tasty (and reasonably healthy) summer meal.

Souvlaki Marinade
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Fixins
• 4 large pita bread rounds
• Romaine lettuce
• Diced tomato
• Sliced red onion
• Pepperoncini
• Feta cheese crumbles
• Tzatziki Sauce (see below)

In a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinaigrette, lemon juice, oregano and black pepper. Place chicken in a shallow dish or large resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over the chicken and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade and place on prepared grill. Discard remaining marinade. Cook chicken until juices run clear, about 8 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from heat, and allow to sit for a few minutes before slicing into thin strips.

Place pita rounds on the grill, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until hot, turning frequently to avoid burning. Stuff pitas with chicken and toppings to serve.



Tzatziki Sauce
• 1 (8 oz) container plain yogurt
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Squeeze the cucumber with a paper towel to remove any excess water. Place all ingredients in a blender and mix to desired consistency. Refrigerate until ready to use.