The Five-Day Tomato Salad...

One of the most depressing parts of winter is the farmers market. During the winter months, there are less than half a dozen venders. During the other three seasons, there are six rows of bustling shoppers. If you are not at the market by seven a.m. all the good produce is gone.

 

I am a faithful market shopper; during the winter months, I typically only get eggs and pork sausage. The market has farmers, wholesale and reseller venders. Saturday morning, my husband mentioned he wanted a BLT for lunch. I reminded him that I would have to visit the grocery store to get them. I then complained that some of the reseller venders should have been at the market, since Florida tomatoes and strawberries were showing up in the grocery store.

 

The farmers market god must have been smiling down at me this morning. When I arrived, there was a resale vender with tomatoes. Thank goodness, the tomatoes were green house and not imported tomatoes treated with gas to make them ripen.

 

Now if my two partners in crime, Debbe from Windy Hill Orchards and Linda from Marshall Farms would magically show up with peaches, potatoes, tomatoes and apples the farmers market would be my favorite place again. Hurry up Spring!!!

 

My mother gave the five-day tomato salad recipe to me years ago. The only problem I have with this salad is I can never make it past day one.

 

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Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad…

This is a twist on the classic pasta salad; it is a creamy ranch-dressing version. The bacon in my book makes the entire salad.

 I think if you added cooked cubed chicken, this would make a wonderful meal for a warm spring or summer evening.

The recipe does not call for it, but I like to add green onions, and two to three teaspoons of the bacon drippings. You can also replace the large tomato with cherry or jelly-bean tomatoes.

 This recipe can be made healthier by using whole-wheat pasta, low or non-fat mayo, non-fat cheese, nonfat or 1% milk and turkey bacon.

Ingredients:

12 ounces of uncooked rotini pasta

10 slices of cooked bacon, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

3 Tablespoons of ranch dressing mix

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon garlic pepper

½ cup of milk or as needed

1 large tomato, chopped

4.25 ounce can sliced black olives

1 cup of shredded cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package

In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, dressing mix, garlic powder and pepper.

Stir in milk until smooth

Add pasta, tomato, bacon, cheese, olives, toss until well coated

Chill 1 hour before serving

**If salad seems a little dry, add in 1 tablespoon of milk at time**

BLT Dip…

With the Super Bowl a few short weeks away, I thought I would share this with you.

 The original recipe calls for seasoning salt and onion powder. I replaced those with Ranch Dressing seasoning mix. This is simple recipe and a true crowd pleaser.

Serve with crackers, bread or even vegetables. For those who like to get creative, cut shapes out of your bread such as stars, or footballs.

For my dieting friends, you can still have this wonderful dip, just use light mayonnaise, non-fat sour cream and omit the bacon drippings.

 I like to use this instead of mayonnaise on my BLT sandwich.

Ingredients:

1 lbs cooked bacon, crumbled

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon of bacon drippings

2 teaspoons of Ranch Dressing mix

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover

Refrigerate for at least half hour before serving.

Spicy Vegetable and Potato Curry...

This recipe came from Whole Foods Market… I am going to cheat and just scan it in today. This would be great for my vegan friends.

For my non-vegan friends, I have used chicken broth and added thinly sliced chicken breast to give this some extra protein.

 For another variation you could swap out the rice for couscous. 

Try Me Tuesday...

Saturday, I dished dinner and called the family in to eat. I was met with mixed enthusiasm, as to was to what was on their plates. First item was the soup; my husband, gave me a questioning look then asked “Why is there so little in my bowl?” I gave each of them about a quarter cup of soup, which just filled the bottom of the bowl. I was not sure if they would like soup, so why waste it?

Next on their plate was a honey-smoked thick cut pork chop, the kind I usually get for stuffing, a Cheryl worthy buttery yeast roll and Paddy’s green bean supreme. 

The soup was huge a big hit. My husband went back for two whole bowls; he and our daughter were already calling dibs on the leftovers for lunch this week. This was a triumph since my husband cannot stand the taste of tomato soup. *I do a happy dance and throw confetti!*

 The soup has creamy tomato taste, like tomato bisque soup. The soups only dairy is four tablespoons of butter. So where is the soup getting its creamy taste? Pumpkin, yes I said pumpkin. The other surprising aspect to this recipe is with two simple changes you could serve it to your vegan friends.

 

Not Bisque, Tomato Bisque Soup

1 small onion, chopped

4 Tablespoons of butter (could use vegetable oil)

1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes

2 15oz can of whole pumpkin, not pie filling

4 cups of chicken broth, (could use vegetable stock, but it will alter the taste)

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

½ teaspoon of ground ginger

2Tablespoons ground pepper

1 teaspoon of white sugar

Directions:

In soup pot, melt butter and sauté onions until soft and translucent

Add broth and bring to a boil for ten minutes

Add entire can of tomatoes to a food processor or blender, puree until smooth

Add tomato puree, canned pumpkin and spices to broth

Simmer for fifteen minutes

 Check back tomorrow for the green beans supreme and pork chop recipe

Stew or Soup? You Decide...

My parents were born in raised in Kentucky, my husband’s in Texas. Here lies the base to an eighteen-year long debate over is it stew or soup.

Growing up when mom made stew it was a thick gravy sauce, with beef, potatoes, peas and a single bay leaf that always managed to end up in some ones bowl. Mom served it with bread and butter.

My husband grew up with stew that was broth based, beef, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and one onion. He eats it with crackers.

Can you see where the debate comes from?

My loving husband states it is because he is from the south and they put tomatoes in everything. I have been deemed a Yankee. Well I hate to break this to my husband, but his father's side of the family was not even American's during the Civil War! When the namesake did immigrate to America, he went to Kentucky. Therefore, if I am a Yankee, he is too!

I will leave each of you to decide which label you would like to classify this recipe, in our house it is called "Oh, that’s good!" 

If you have a picky eater like mine. Try a ladle full with only a small bit of broth and top with shredded cheddar jack cheese.

Paddy's Beef Stew (Soup)

1 ½ to 2 lbs of beef stew meat or roast cut into 2 inch pieces

1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped

3 carrots sliced

4 large potatoes, chopped to bite size pieces

2 large (28-30 oz) cans of whole tomatoes

Ground pepper

1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil

In soup pot, add oil and brown stew meat (personally, I add crushed garlic or garlic powder to the meat at this point.) Add enough water to cover meat, cover pot and let simmer until meat is tender. (If you have meat tenderizer go ahead and sprinkle some in) Simmer until almost all of the water has evaporated from pot, usually takes 1 ½ hours.

Add potatoes, onion and carrots.  Crush tomatoes while adding to pot along with the juice.

Cover pot and simmer until vegetables are done, season with pepper to taste.

Crock-pot version – Yes, you can make stew in a crock-pot!

Place meat tenderizer, stew meat, pepper, (garlic,) onion and enough water to reach almost halfway of crock-pot. Set to highest setting, replace lid and let simmer for 6 hours.

After six hours, water should be mostly gone. Place carrots and potatoes in a microwavable dish (I prefer an 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup) cover with water and microwave on high for ten minutes. The vegetables should fork tender but not completely cooked. Add tomatoes, potatoes and carrots to crock-pot and let cook for an hour on high temperature.