Mint Watermelon Salad

I haven't posted in forever; the computer crashed and we moved. I've still been cooking, though. I have lots of fun recipes to post. Now, I just have to find where I packed my camera... Notice the quality of this picture (it was taken with my iphone).

Here is a fun appetizer that is so easy and refreshing. I got the idea from the Beauty Shop in Memphis that serves this delicious appetizer.

Slice watermelon, sprinkle with feta, olive oil, and crushed mint.

**I accidentally got peppercorn and I think I would stick to the plain feta.
Enjoy!

Summer Tomato Pie- Southern Living Style

Southern Living has always done comfort food well and this pie is just that. Growing up in the south, I have tried quite a few tomato pies. Tomato Pies have always been something I thought I should like (judging by the way they smell when they are in the oven), but I have never really been a huge fan of them until I met this recipe. I am a texture person and something about this pie and salting the tomatoes before you use them makes all the difference. 

I slightly adapted this recipe from Southern Living.

• 3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 Frozen deep dish pie crust (believe it or not my favorite is the Walmart brand).
• 4 bacon slices
• 2 medium-size red onions, halved and thinly sliced (SL called for 3 but I thought that was overkill).
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons fine, dry breadcrumbs

** I added a dash of hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce too. 

• Place tomato slices on paper towels, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Allow the tomatoes stand for 30 minutes. This makes all the difference!
• Defrost Pie Crust
• Bake at 425° for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove pie weights and foil.
• Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon, and set aside.
• Sauté onion in hot drippings in skillet over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Spoon onion over prepared piecrust, and top with tomato slices.


• Stir together Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spread mixture over tomato slices. Combine Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs; sprinkle over top.





• Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden. Let the pie cool for 5 minutes so that it can firm up. Sprinkle with bacon. I recommend serving this with a salad since the pie is pretty rich.

Taco Pizza Night

When I told Bill I was going to try a recipe for Taco Pizza, he kept asking me what  night was going to be Taco Pizza Night. So as you can guess Taco Pizza became a pretty big deal around here. I mean you are combining two favorites: Pizza and Tacos. How could it not be a winner? Like most of my recipes, I found it and adapted it. This one is from Pioneer Woman (love her!). 

 

(Please pardon the non-rotated photo...technical difficulties!)

Taco Pizza


⅓ cups Olive Oil
1 can (14 Ounce) Black Beans
3 teaspoon Taco Seasoning 
5 whole Corn Tortillas, Sliced Into Thin Strips
½ cups Canola Oil, For Frying
1 1/2  cup Grated Sharp Cheddar, I combined with Kraft's Taco Blend
1 head Green Leaf Lettuce, shredded 
2 whole  Tomatoes, Diced
1 can of Diced Black Olive¼ cups Sour Cream
3 Tablespoons Hot Sauce 

1 teaspoon of cumin
Pizza Dough (I buy mine in the freezer section at Walmart. It is excellent. You can also buy it fresh at Earth Fare or make it yourself :) ).


Pour the black beans into a sauce pan and add teaspoon of cumin and taco seasoning. Heat beans over medium heat. Use a potato masher to mash the beans. Cook on medium low (don't forget to stir every once and a while) until the bean mixture thickens.


In a frying pan heat oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, drop in the tortilla strips. Fry until golden and crispy. It shouldn't take long! Place fried strips on plate with a paper towel.


Preheat the oven to what the directions of the dough you are using dictates.

Roll dough out and use flour or cornmeal. I have really enjoyed using my pizza stone and recommend using one for pizzas.


I added on olive oil and kosher salt along the sides of the pizza (where the crust is) but this isn't necessary. Top pizza with black beans (make sure they are the consistency of refried beans and/or not too runny) and cheese.


Cook for 8-10 minutes. 


Mix sour cream, hot sauce, and taco seasoning. You want enough hot sauce to make the mixture thin enough to use as a sauce. 

When the cheese is melted and the crust is golden, remove pizza. Cover with shredded lettuce, olives, and tomatoes. Drizzle hot sour cream sauce on top. Enjoy immediately. 

Grilled Pork Chops & Fresh Summer Peaches

There are so many recipes I want to post, but here is an excellent easy summer dish. It would be the perfect 4th of July weekend meal. This recipe is from Cooking Light except I think the pork is much better marinated and grilled on the grill. I tried both ways and was much happier with the grilled version.

Another tip: I've had more luck with buying pork loin and asking the butcher to cut them into pork chops, instead of buying the precut kind. I am not sure why this is but the pork chops seem to be more tender this way. It's also a good way to save money. Buy the pork loin when it goes on sale. Freeze half for a roast and use the the other half for a pork chop dish!

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
4 (4-ounce) center-cut boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme ( I used basil because that's what I had on hand).
2 peaches, each cut into 8 wedges
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup  chicken broth
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons butter
Marinate and/or spice rub (whatever you typically use when you grill). 

 1.Marinade your pork chops and grill. I am not an expertise when it comes to grilling. My experience only goes so far. It typically looks something like, "Hey, Bill I have a new recipe I want to try, but it calls for grilled pork chops. Can you grill tonight?" All that to say- I can't really instruct you on how to grill these pork chops...

2. While your husband/ friend/ or very talented you are grilling your  pork chops, begin making the peach sauce. Heat olive oil in a grill pain on medium high. Add onions, thyme, and peaches to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in wine and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup for about 2 minutes. Stir in broth and honey; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/3 cup for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in butter. Spoon sauce over chops. 

I served mine over a bed of couscous with fresh corn! This is such an easy flavorful dish.

Shepherd’s Pie That Will Make Your Man Cry

I adapted this recipe from Rachel Ray’s “Meat and Potatoes.” This is a must try! A very inexpensive recipe that is full of flavor! Bill loved it. He literally said, “this is sooooo good” at least ten times during the meal. This is the kind of “man food” I can enjoy too.

Ingredients:

2 large Russet baking potatoes peeled and cubed

1 tablespoon of butter

Splash of milk or half and half

1 egg beaten

Salt

Black pepper

Dash of Grill Seasoning  (optional)

2 pounds of ground chuck

2 tablespoons of Worstershire sauce

2 tablespoons of minced onion

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

¾ cup flat leaf parsley leaves finely chopped

4 wheat Bolillo French rolls found in the deli section (Rachel uses Kaiser but I prefer the wheat).

2 tablespoons of Olive Oil

Dash of dried chives (or fresh if you have it).

Place potatoes in a sauce pan and cover the potatoes with water by an inch. Bring to boil over high heat. Cook potatoes until tender for about twelve minutes. Then drain the potatoes and let sit for a minute. Next, add butter and a splash of milk.  Add a slightly beaten egg, salt, pepper, and a dash of dried chives. Mash with a masher.

While potatoes are cooking, combine the ground chuck, Worstershire, onion, garlic, grill seasoning, salt, pepper, and parsley in a bowl.  Make patties by dividing meat mixture into four even portions. Press an indention in each hamburger so the meat cooks more evenly. Heat oil in grill pan and wait for oil to heat up on medium high heat.

Cook burgers about  11 minutes on each side for medium burgers.

Cut rolls in half. After the burgers are done, leave heat on and quickly place the bread in the pan until toasted (about a minute). Place burger on roll and top with mashed potatoes. I served mine with steamed snap peas.



Strawberry Cake and Quick Summer Meals Ideas

I had care group snacks last week and wanted to make something pretty and summery. Also Sam's had a huge container of beautiful strawberries on sale, so I wanted  to make something with strawberries.

So I made this:

I just wish you could smell it. Obviously, since I brought it to care group we didn't eat it warm, but next time I definitely want to try it warm. I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and as always she knows her stuff. I can't wait for her cookbook to come out.



6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature,e
1 1/2 cups  all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
1 pound  strawberries, hulled and halved
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (I used this, but you could probably just use a cake pan too.)

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until  fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until barely smooth.
Pour into greased pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (it's okay to overlap a bit). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries. I'm underlining this because it's an easy step to forget since the pie looks oven ready.
Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out clean about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (The strawberries may be gooey on the tester but that's just how you want them!) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with whipped cream. I bought some because I thought it would be more portable but I want to make it next time. Enjoy!

Oh, and I promised easy summer meal Ideas:

Here are two:

1) Grill smoked sausage (not dishes to clean up in the kitchen) and sprinkle chili pepper on it after. My cousin, Natalie, served these as appetizers at her wedding and they were incredible. Serve with Jenn's Amazing Blackeyed Pea Salsa. Find this recipe at the bottom of my Fiesta collection: http://sophie-flourchild.blogspot.com/2011/05/mexican-fiesta.html Note: Don't use cilantro if you plan on having left overs.

2) 4 Cheese Avocado Turkey Sandwiches. We really liked these, plus they were easy. I used the pesto I had on hand from my Pesto Béchamel and had a coupon for Sarah Lee deli turkey. 

This makes for a healthy-ish lunch.

Ingredients:

Makes 2 Sandwiches

1 Avocado

Mayo (I use the olive oil kind)

Cheddar Cheese (I used sharp)

Kraft Romano & Asiago, and Parmesan  cheese blend

Pepper and sea salt

Wheat Bread

1 teaspoon of pesto

Butter for the pan 

On a grill pan I melted a generous amount of butter and flipped both sides. Then I spread the mayonnaise on pieces of the sandwich. On one side I put cheddar and salt and pepper and on the other I created a pesto mayo blend and added the parmesan. Top with turkey. Cook until it melts and add your avocado. I served mine with oven roasted zucchini. Cheap and fast! Make your own version!

Pesto Béchamel Pasta

I made this up because I was craving Italian and wanted to make a nice dinner for Bill. It's a definite remake. The béchamel sauce makes it creamy but not too rich.

1 box of angel hair pasta ( I like the protein noodles to make it healthier)
Pesto in a jar ( mine had pine nuts)
Cherry tomatoes
Olive oil
One tablespoon of red wine
Sea salt
Minced garlic fresh or from a jar
1 1/2 tablespoon of flour
1 bouillon cube
Pepper
1 teaspoon Basil
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Okay so you can't go wrong with these ingredients. I am going to give you the basic framework but you may want to double it.

Make angel hair pasta.
Meanwhile wash and thinly slice the tomatoes. Next heat about 3 tbs of olive oil in a frying pan on medium high. When oil is hot, throw in tomatoes.  Careful not to burn yourself from the oil :) Leave on medium high heat for one more minute and add wine. Sprinkle sea salt on tomatoes. Next, drain pasta and add pesto (look on jar for proportions.) Add 1 Tablespoon of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk 1 tablespoon of flour in until all the lumps are out. Next, pour in 1/2 cup of milk whisking continually. Add bouillon cube and spices.

Serve the béchamel sauce in the middle of the bed of pesto noodles with the sautéed tomatoes on top.