Light and Summery

Matt and I have been having an adverse reaction to spaghetti sauce, and really, cooked tomatoes altogether. Pizza is no longer an appealing option so it has been a fun challenge for me to find fresh tomato sauces that taste good, are comforting, and easy on the digestive system. A few weeks ago I found a large amount of dill for a great price at the farmers market. I had so much leftover that I had to go digging around on the Internet to find another recipe to use up the rest! Luckily, I found one that matched our needs and I've made it twice this week. I'd use fresh parsley and dill if you can, it makes all the difference. I think next time I'll add another clove of garlic, and maybe some cooked chicken too, right before serving. This would also taste excellent with homemade pesto and/or grilled shrimp! You could even dice the tomatoes a little more and serve on baguette slices - bruschetta!

Fresh Tomato Dill Pasta
from Cooks.com

Ingredients:
3 1/2 c. diced ripe tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
2 tbsp. minced parsley
1 1/2 tsp. dill weed
2 tsp. finely minced shallot or green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. thin pasta noodles (such as linguine, angel hair or spaghetti), cooked

Directions:
In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, parsley, dill, shallot and garlic. Gradually stir in olive oil.

For best flavor, let sauce sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour. When ready to serve, add salt and pepper; toss with hot cooked pasta.

Makes 2 to 4 servings (about 3 1/2 cups sauce).

A week of new dinners

Last week was ambitious week, we had a new dinner recipe for each night of the week, so here's a few of them.

The first one, Brown Rice Risotto with Lamb, we actually didn't follow the directions - we used beef (from Trader Joes) instead of lamb, chicken broth instead of vegetable juice, rosemary and thyme insted of curry powder... but our substitutions worked out well and the original recipe still looks very tasty.

Brown Rice Risotto with Lamb

Ingredients

• 1 2- to 2-1/2-pound (boneless) lamb shoulder roast
• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2-1/2 cups hot-style vegetable juice
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper

1, Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit into a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cocker. Coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Cook meat in hot skillet until browned, turning to brown evenly. Drain off fat. In the slow cooker, combine vegetable juice, uncooked brown rice, curry powder, and salt. Top with carrots. Place meat on carrots.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 4-1/2 hours.
3. Add the sweet pepper to slow cooker. Cover and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes or until sweet pepper is tender. Makes 8 servings.

From Better Homes and Gardens, http://www.bhg.com/

Crunchy Apple Salsa with Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

Salsa

• 2 cups chopped, cored Gala apples
• 1 Anaheim chili pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• salt and black pepper

Grilled Chicken

• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts

To prepare salsa, in a medium bowl combine apples, chili pepper, onion (I used white onion), lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the salsa mixture and set it aside while preparing chicken. (Salsa can be made ahead, several hours or a day, just refrigerate the salsa).

To prepare the grilled chicken, in a large bowl combine white wine, apple juice, lime zest, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and turn the chicken to coat it on all sides with the mixture. Cover the chicken and refrigerate it for 30 to 40 minutes.

Heat grill. Drain the chicken and discard the chicken marinade. Grill chicken until it is cooked through, serve with salsa and that bottle of wine you opened to make the marinade.

Recipe From the Heart of Washington, I found it in my magazine from the local hospital ... :)

Fried-rice jambalaya

Ingredients

• 2 cups long-grain rice
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound dry (cooked) chorizo sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

In a large saucepan, combine rice, 3 cups of water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes (or depending or your rice's cooking directions). Remove from heat and let sit, covered, 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the sausage, peas, paprika, pepper, remaining salt, and cooked rice. Heat through, 2 to 3 minutes, while stirring. Sprinkle with the scallions, if desired. Serve hot.

We couldn't find cooked chorizo, so we used salami instead, but basically any leftover meat or chicken breast can be thrown as replacement for the chorizo. The recipes serves 4 as in 4 pretty hungry adults, because we had leftovers enough for another dinner a day later.

The recipe is from Real Simple, as is the next one, which we served with the jambalaya.

Rosemary Corn Bread

• 2 8 1/2-ounces boxes corn-bread mix
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 8-ounce container plain yogurt
• 2 7-ounce cans whole-kernel corn, drained
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary leaves

Heat oven to 400 F. Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. Stir all the ingredients together. Spoon the batter into the pan. Bake 25 minutes or just until golden. Remove to a wire rack to cool, when cool cut into pieces.

This recipe serves 24, so I only made half as much in a square 8-by-8-inch pan. I loved the corn kernels in this bread and may actually have found my first contribution to the Thanksgiving dinners.

And if you aren't hungry now, I don't really know what to tell you ... all yummy dinners, all of them pretty quick to make and the stew simmering for nine hours sure made the kitchen smell nice all day long.

Brown and Mushy

Question: What's brown and mushy and has spots all over?
Answer: An overripe banana.

One of the many things I admire about my friend Katy is her economical and spontaneous creativity in the kitchen for creating pantry recipes (a.k.a. using up items she already has on hand.) While I am great at hunting for recipes and good at following a plan, I am terrible at letting leftover items go to waste that do not have a pre-designated purpose. So I am very proud of myself this week for taking three rotten bananas and turning them into the ultimate treat -- Banana Bread -- instead of throwing them in the trash like I normally would.

Below is the quick and simple recipe I followed courtesy of Simply Recipes. The banana bread made a delicious accompaniment to the soup I served for dinner last night and a nice breakfast treat this morning served with hot coffee. Next time I think I will add some chopped walnuts for a little extra crunch.

Banana Bread

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Simply Recipes http://www.simplyrecipes.com