BIZZY BAKES

I had some beautiful tomatoes and knew if I didn't use them right away, they would not be so beautiful any more.  I needed a quick and easy dish to get them used up and still enjoy them.  I used to make something like this with Mozzarella and Parmesan but I was serving this with meat and could not have dairy products. I threw this together and topped each one with less than a teaspoon of mayonnaise which looked like cheese, in the finished product. Baked Tomato Slices Ingredients : 4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick 1/2 cup fresh gluten-free Panko crumbs 2 teaspoons parsley salt and pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon olive oil a few teapoons of mayo Method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place tomato slices close together in prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, and oregano.  Cover each slice with les...

I felt a need for cheese. I kept thinking of quiche, pizza, mac and cheese, spaghetti with Parmesan, Feta with anything..........big chunks of cheese, sliced cheese, squishy cheese, smelly cheese.....just cheese. What do you do when you see cheese in everything? ---- You grab a piece of cheese and while eating it, you start to cook. At least, that is what I did. This recipe has no name and I can't think of one. A recipe really needs a name, doesn't it? A recipe without a name is like water without a glass. It is nebulous. So, what name should I give it. These are the facts: It has Gouda and Parmesan. Scallions and tomatoes. It is broiled. It has my least favorite ingredient - mayonnaise. It is delicious. It has that nice brown top from the broiler. We finished it off in no time, at all. So, what would you name it. Nothing? You think about it, while I type the recipe and then maybe, one of us will come up with a name for it. No Name Cheese Recipe 1/2 cup Parm...

Oh, the silly things we do.......  We don't usually eat olives.  We don't particularly like them.  I had a bottle for the longest time and I never opened it so finally, I gave it away, right before I looked at what we would be cooking this month.  The result - no olives in this dish. I find, there is a lot to laugh at, in cooking, serving and eating.  Over the years, I bet, we all have stories that we still giggle over.  Just the other day, I followed a recipe to make a baked blintz.  I put the butter in the microwave to melt and only remembered it after the blintz was almost done baking.  What a wonderful mistake.  I can not imagine that dish being any better than it was and now, I know not to add more fat to this recipe. Hopefully, I will get that blintz blogged real soon.  It is scrumptious, Tonight we made this yummy baked chicken in a flavored mixture of deliciousness.  I let mine marinade for a while which made it eve...

I shouldn't like chili because I don't usually like mixed meat and vegetable dished but this chili was very good.  I went back for seconds. Turkey Chili Ingredients: 1 pound lean ground turkey (lean) 28-ounce can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes 2 cups water 2 large onions, chopped 1 tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (or more to taste) 2 teaspoons brown rice flour one 15-ounce can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed 2 cups frozen corn kernels  Method: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the turkey, stirring to break up the meat.  Drain the fat. My turkey had almost no fat. Add the tomatoes, water, onions, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, cumin, oregano, and red pepper. Mix thoroughly. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in the b...

For this week, Peggy  has chosen a delectable and simple dish, Penne with Grape tomatoes and Spinach.  This is representative, in my opinion, of Ellie Krieger dishes, simple, healthy and yummy.  It is a light dish despite it being pasta.  The tomatoes and Parmesan gave it strength in flavor.  Since I could not use garlic, one of the main components in the dish, I added an onion, chopped and cooked.  I added the tomatoes to the onions and just kept adding. Since we love spinach, I tend to throw into many dishes but this one called for it.  You can imagine how this sold the recipe before I even made it.  This would make a great veggie dish without the pasta and with additional vegetables. As usual as for years, this is another Ellie dish, this family likes a lot.  It feels good to be cooking  her recipes on a regular basis.  It brings back happy memories of the weekly cheers that went up, in our house, when we had yet another s...

With all the predictions of very cold weather, it is still fine here.  While, I have been yearning for hot soup, instead today, I did want a salad which was on the menu in our WwDH group.  I can't remember ever having this salad.  It is a treat with so many different ingredients.  I did leave out the olives because we are not much of an olive eating family. With green beans, tomatoes, tuna, potatoes, spinach and eggs, this was a potpourri of flavors.  The dressing was a simple one but just right for this mixture. Interesting use of words, in Science I am teaching my class the difference between a mixture, element and compound.  They will enjoy that I ate a mixture for lunch. I enjoyed this and can see making it again. Check out the other Donna Hay cooks. Gaye           Sarah            and       Margaret , Linked to Full Plate Thursday       Creative Munster...

I must admit, I am not sure why the Donna Hay site lists this recipe as caramelized tomatoes when chicken is a major part of the recipe,  I added the chicken to the title and I am happy it is part of the recipe since it makes up a major part of my dinner, tonight.  I am thinking of  serving it with a bright green broccoli side dish and hopefully will produce a pretty colored plate. I have not tasted the dish yet so I can't tell you how it turned out but I can easily guess.  This was one of the easiest dishes, we have made and I am betting with the balsamic vinegar, one of the tastiest.  The chicken is only spiced with salt and pepper which should be enough. You can find the recipe here. Check out the other Donna cooks and see what they have made. Gaye               Sarah             Margaret Linked to  Full Plate  Thursday     Poor and Gluten Free ...

I know, we are not alone in having an abundance of tomatoes from our garden.  Many of us have this terrific problem.  For a foodie, this is a challenge and what we do with the tomatoes is the game.  Since we are doing on side dishes from Ina Garten, this month, what better crop to use than tomatoes. I chose this roasted tomato because of our love for roasted vegetables.  It would seem than any roasted vegetable is better than the original.  With some balsamic and something sweet added, this was a joy to eat. Roasted Tomatoes  (adapted from Ina Garten ) Ingredients: 4 large round tomatoes, sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon basil leaves, chopped 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper olive oil cooking spray Method: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with  balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle the gar...

This is another recipe brought over from My Sweet and Savory. This is when a kosher site runs into difficulties. This recipe was meant to be made with shrimp and we don't eat shell fish. Salmon may be a poor substitute but it was good. I found this to be an easy recipe which went quickly as I find most of Donna's recipes. I am going to share my recipe which of course, will be different from the other participants. Ingredients; Recipes: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large onion, sliced 1 clove garlic, chopped (more was called for in original recipe) 1 can diced tomatoes 1 cup white wine 1 cup vegetable broth 2 salmon fillet 2 tablespoons parsley black pepper Method: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes until onion are soft and golden. Add tomatoes, wine and broth. Simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Add salmon and cook for 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Add parsley...

As long as it has veggies............pasta is not fattening...........or so I tell myself. Creamy Lemon Pasta Plus Some Ingredients: 1 pound thin spaghetti (gluten-free) 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1 cup low-fat sour cream plenty of Parmesan to taste chopped parsley 1 zucchini, diced grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced 1 medium onion, diced Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta as directed on package. Put olive oil in skillet. Add zucchini, onions and tomatoes. Add lemon juice to pan and cook for a few minutes. Add sour cream and mix it through. Place drained and rinsed pasta in a baking dish. Pour over it the vegetables and sour cream and mix. Bake covered for 15 minutes. Remove covering and bake for additional 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with Parmesan cheese. I...

My husband has his moments when he is not subtle and today was one of them.  Emails and phone calls all mentioned that this is the season for soup, nice hot soup.  When he called before dinner and I told him, I was having leftovers, his comment was, "Have I told you how good soup is in this weather?"  Yes, he certainly had. What I did not tell him was that bubbling, on the stove, was a pot of rich delicious vegetable soup with spicy meatballs.  (not very spicy since that is not to his liking)  Needless to say, I had a happy husband enter the kitchen tonight. This is my magic soup.  Feel free to substitute your favorite veggies, add beans, quinoa, rice, sweet potato, you name it. Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil Meatballs, cooked in the freezer (you can use browned chopped meat or make you favorite meatball recipe - making a small sized ball - about a pound ) 1 large onion, chopped 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped (small pieces - about 1...

We were excited to hear that Barilla is now selling gluten-free pasta but it has not arrived at our local stores.  Ronzoni has and tonight, I used their penne, for the first time.   Barillas has many shapes, as well.    I am not sure but I think that the Ronzoni penne which I used tonight is better than the brands, I have cooked with.  I want to make more dishes and also to use Barilla. I am not sure how to do a taste test using the four brands I have access to.  Too much eating.    Tonight, I cooked this dish using roasted red and orange peppers, penne pasta, roasted tomatoes, and shredded chicken.  The minimal sauce was made of oil, vinegar, tomato paste, oregano, basil, sugar, black pepper and salt.  I thought I would want additional sauce but it was fine, coating the pasta and nothing more.  Hubby and I both enjoyed this and hubby had seconds.  I would make this again. Check out the other Donn...

I am still holding on to salads and this one is special with the pear tomatoes which are rather new to me.  There was a time, I would not try any new vegetable and as a result only had fresh spinach, for the first time, a few years ago.  Frozen spinach was fine for me.  Now, I have discovered fresh spinach and I use it almost every day. Yellow Pear and Cherry Tomato Salad  Ingredients: 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar  1 shallot, minced 1 tablespoon  olive oil 1/8 teaspoon black pepper  1 1/2 cups pear tomatoes (yellow, halved) 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes (halved) 1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach, torn Combine dressing ingredients. In a large serving or salad bowl, toss together all the tomatoes. Pour the vinaigrette over the tomatoes and toss gently to mix well and coat evenly. Add the spinach and shallots and mix a little more.

This month, at Ina Fridays, is side dishes and frankly, I could live happily, only on sides.  When I go to restaurants, I don't want to order one of the mains, I look to the sides and often order a few of those instead.  That is a meal I love. This group was started by the dynamic Alyce from  More Time at the Table  I am excited to share that she will soon be publishing a very special cookbook, Soup & Sides for Every Season   and I, for one, can't wait to get my hands on a copy.  If you check out Alyce's site, you will understand why I am so excited about it. With our super delicious tomatoes from our garden, I couldn't resist, making Ina's roasted tomatoes.  Although, I did not take a picture, I served some of these with bright green broccoli.  A beautiful plate and one that we love. Roasted Tomatoes (adapted from Food Network ) Ingredients : 4 tomatoes, sliced,  2 tablespoons good olive oil...

 In my weekly menu, in the previous post, I listed this Chunky Dairy Ratatouille as one of the dairy meals, we would be eating this week.  I have made ratatouille many times but I don't remember using cheese.  It is such a good idea. It is a little like lasagna with no noodles but lots of veggies. I am tutoring, this summer, and unfortunately, the hour is just when I normally make dinner.  I know, I have to make adjustments and either cook, in the morning, which I like to do or prep before the student arrives and then cook, after he leaves. Since, I did not get to this, in the morning, I started preparing, an hour before my young man arrives.  Although, this is not a difficult recipe to make, the peeling and chopping was time consuming and with interruptions, I ran out of time.  I must improve my scheduling. Bottom line - this is a delicious dish and it was worth a bit of confusion. Originally, I was going to use the recipe from Joy of Kosher but ...