Tomato Bread

As I have mentioned before, I spent much of my youth at the family cottage with my extended family.  I have many fond memories of fun times at the cottage with my multitude of cousins.  We would often spend hot days swimming in the cool lake.  In the evening, the kids would help my grandma and aunts make dinner and dessert.  Dessert was usually made from freshly picked fruit (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, peaches) that we kids worked very hard picking.  I'll share those recipes later.

My absolute favorite dinner that I learned to make at the cottage was (and still is to this day) Tomato Bread.  I have tried many tomato breads while dining at restaurants, but nothing beats the homemade kind.  The dish is quick and easy, and a great meatless choice ( I like to eat it on Fridays during Lent.)  I prefer tomato bread as a meal, but it can also be served as an appetizer or snack.

If you have tomatoes growing in your garden, it's a great way to use them quickly.

TOMATO BREAD

Ingredients:
2 long twin loaves of bread, cut in half lengthwise
Speadable low fat margarine, butter
Garlic powder
Oregano
Basil
2 large tomatoes or 3 medium tomatoes
2 cups low fat shredded cheese (I prefer mozzarella and cheddar)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place sliced bread onto large baking sheet and spread lightly with margarine.  Sprinkle to taste garlic powder, oregano, and basil.  Slice tomatoes in thin slices and place on bread to cover loaves.  Sprinkle with seasonings again.  Top with shredded cheese and bake until cheese is melted (about 15 minutes).  Let cool and slice with sharp knife or pizza cutter.

NOTE: Tomato Bread may also be grilled if you like a smokey flavor.

Taco Pasta Salad

For Memorial Day weekend this year, I was invited to a couple cookouts and I needed a dish to bring.  I didn't want to bring the same thing that I usually bring.  I find taco salad delicious... the "old time" taco salad made with lettuce, taco meat tomatoes, cheese, Doritos and Catalina dressing.  The lettuce would get mushy in the heat. and the Doritos and dressing are loaded with sodium, so I thought I might try to make a different version.

This is the recipe that I came up with which received good reviews from the guests.  Luckily, there was some left over, so I know that it tastes just as good the next day.

TACO PASTA SALAD

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground meat (I prefer beef, you may you any kind)
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend*
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
3/4 cup oil
1 pound of pasta (your choice, I used rotini)
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 can black olives, sliced
1/2 cup green onion, sliced
2 cups low fat shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)
sour cream, for serving

Preparation:
In a large skillet, brown ground meat with 1/2 of the chopped onion and drain fat.  Add 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water and simmer for 10 minutes.  Let cool.  In large pot, cook pasta and drain.  Meanwhile in small bowl, whisk vinegar, lime juice, and 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning.  Add oil and whisk thoroughly.  When meat is cool, in extra large bowl, combine pasta, meat, tomatoes, olives, onions, ans cheese.  Pour dressing over bowl and toss to coat.  Serve with sour cream.

*Please email me at auntiejeans@yahoo.com if you would like to order some Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend for $5 per bottle.

Mexican Lasagna

It's been way too long since I've written a new post.  This recipe exists because I wanted to eat tacos for dinner, but the shells that I had were stale.  So, I decided to serve tacos lasagna-style instead.

MEXICAN LASAGNA

Ingredients:

12 taco shells (I use low sodium corn shells)
1 pound ground meat
1 small to medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons of Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Taco Blend
2 cups low fat shredded cheese (I prefer cheddar)
1 cup salsa prepared with Auntie Jean's Low Sodium Salsa Blend

Preparation:
Line the bottom of 13 x 9 inch lasagna pan with 6 taco shells.  Cut one shell into 4 pieces and cut three shells in half with a pizza cutter.  Use the 4 pieces in each of the corners.

Brown ground meat with onion in skillet and drain.  Add taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  Pour meat over layer of taco shells and top with 1 cup cheese.



Add another layers of taco shells.  Then layer salsa and cheese on top.



Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, until cheese has melted.  Wait 10 minutes to let set before cutting and serving.  You can serve with green onions, olives, and sour cream for topping.

Lemon Squares

My family celebrates Easter like many other families do... with lots of food.  My favorite part of special meals is dessert.  I love baking, but I love eating baked goods even more.  In recent years, I have been assigned the task of bringing dessert for our family gatherings.

This year, I brought Caramel Banana Cheesecake and Lemon Squares.  My sister and I used our grandmother's recipe for Lemon Squares.  Grandma's recipes are often not very specific, so they never turn out just like Grandma used to make.  This recipe said to put the lemon squares into an oblong pan.  We used a 13 x 9 inch pan, and it seemed too large.  So the recipe here is doubling the amount of filling.  I'm not sure how that will affect the baking time / temperature.  The ones we made seemed slightly overdone.

We also made a batch of these using gluten free flour, and they turned out well too.

I'll try baking these again soon and let you know how they turned out.

LEMON SQUARES:

Shell-
1/2 cup butter, salt free
1 cup flour, sifted
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix above ingredients in a small bowl and press into 13 x 9 inch pan. 

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Filling:
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon sodium free baking soda
4 eggs, slightly beaten
Juice of 2 large lemons or 1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine above ingredients in bowl. 

Pour over baked crust. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. 

Let cool.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Cut into squares and serve.

Meatballs with Orzo & Zucchini

This is a quick, simple recipes for those days you need to throw together something for dinner.  The key is having frozen cooked meatballs.  You can use the store bought kind or you can use your own.  Meatballs are perfect to use in many recipes, including soups, stews, and skillet dishes. 

When you have more time, just prepare a big batch of meatballs.  Cook them and freeze them in Ziploc bags.  I would put about 1/2 pound of meatballs per bag. Then you're ready to pull them out of the freezer and use them in a quick recipe like this.

The recipe calls for orzo, tomatoes, and zucchini, but you can adapt the recipe to suit your taste.  I didn't have zucchini on hand the day I prepared it, but the dish was fine without it.  You might also want to add some seasonings if you like a little more flavor.

MEATBALLS WITH ZUCCHINI AND ORZO
Ingredients:
16 frozen cooked meatballs
14 ounces low sodium beef broth
1 can low sodium diced Italian tomatoes  (I just had a can of regular tomatoes, so I added Italian seasonings to the tomatoes)
1 medium zucchini, julienned

Preparation:
Place frozen meatballs and broth in skillet and boil.  Stir in pasta and reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer 12 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes and zucchini.  Cook about 5 minutes, until zucchini is tender.

Italian Chicken Skillet

This chicken recipe is another one that's easy to make and it doesn't take too long to cook.  Those are my favorite kind of recipes.  You can save a little preparation time by chopping the vegetables the day before.  Leftovers keep well in the fridge for lunch the next day, or you can even freeze them for weeks.

I have a friend who is a busy working mom, and she prepares several main dishes on Sunday to serve her family for the coming week.  She simply freezes them and then will move the meal into the refrigerator the night before she plans to serve the meal.  It's thawed and ready to reheat and serve to her family when she comes home from work.  This recipe would work well for her.

ITALIAN CHICKEN SKILLET

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can (4 oz) low sodium sliced mushrooms
1 can (14 oz) low sodium diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

In large skillet, saute chicken over medium heat until browned.  Remove and keep warm.  In same skillet, saute vegetables until tender and return chicken to skillet.  Combine tomatoes, vinegar, and seasonings and pour over chicken and vegetables.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  Uncover and simmer for 10 minutes longer.  (I didn't simmer the last 10 minutes because the chicken was cooked through after 30 minutes.)

Bruscetta

Another dish that I prepared while I hosted my friends for bunco was Bruscetta.  They told me that it was delicious.  It was the first time that I had ever made bruscetta, so I was proud.  :-)

I had been craving bruscetta for awhile, and it seemed that no restaurants made bruscetta the way I like it.  So, I had to make my own.

I thought the bruscetta was really tasty.  I would, however, change one thing the next time I make it.  That would be to add capers... because I love capers!  If you don't love capers, then prepare the recipe as is.

BRUSCETTA
Ingredients:
6 plum tomatoes, diced
3 cloves minced garlic (I use the jarred, pre-minced kind)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil (I rarely if ever have fresh basil, so I used 2 teaspoons of dried basil)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:
In a medium bowl, combine ingredients.  Refrigerate overnight (minimum 2 hours).  Serve with toasted thick-sliced bread.  Top with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.