Aug
9
2010
Well it has certainly been awhile ya’ll. I have to say, being pregnant has certainly knocked me off of my feet literally for the past two months and I haven’t been posting as much as I would have liked, due to the fact that every smell and word about food made me run away or feel nauseated. I still have my moments, but today was the first time in awhile that I had inspiration to cook something fresh and seasonal. I had a craving for some fresh homemade bruschetta with those little pearly mozzarella things and some balsamic drizzled over it with some crusty bread… so I got cooking and came up with this easy cheesy recipe. It is to die for and I warn you now it will be hard to keep your hands and mouth off of it. You’ll be lucky if anyone else in the house gets a bite. I’m going downstairs now as I say this to get another slice of bruschetta before I start uploading the photos!
So, now that we have that out of the way (mmm this is so good!), I’m not sure how frequent I will be posting recipes in the upcoming months, but hopefully good things will come and this nausea will soon pass and I will have new energy for sharing some recipes. For now, I leave you all with this trusty recipe for my chopped bruschetta… when all else fails and its too hot and humid to eat anything else, you can’t go wrong with this. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!
You will need:
1 loaf of french bread or a large french baguette
8 Roma tomatoes
1-2 large cloves of garlic
5-6 fresh basil leaves
1 package of Bel Gioioso fresh Mozzarella pearls
Balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper
Step 1: Rinse and chop Roma tomatoes and place in a medium size serving bowl or plastic bowl, whatever you have on hand and don’t have to bend over to pick up.
Step 2: Mince the garlic cloves and add to the tomatoes.
Step 3: Break apart the Bel Gioioso Mozzarella pearls and then add them to the tomato mixture.
Step 4: Pick 5-6 large basil leaves and rinse them. Then pat dry with paper towels. Stack leaves and roll up lengthwise. Cut diagonally with a knife and spread strips apart with fingers. Then roughly chop strips and add basil leaves to the tomato mixture.
Step 5: Add the vinaigrette in this order – olive oil, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, black pepper. Drizzle ingredients over the top and then mix with a spoon until all the ingredients are well coated with the mixture.
Step 6: This is the best part…now slice the french bread into thick slices and top with a heaping spoonful of the mixture. Then enjoy it. I recommend covering the bowl with plastic wrap and marinating for a few hours in the fridge before serving. Also if you want to be more fancy you can toast the baguette slice in the oven and then top with the bruschetta mixture. But, in my pregnant world, this worked just fine cold and without toasting the bread. Enjoy!
no comments | tags: balsamic vinegar, Bel Gioioso mozzarella pearls, Bruschetta, fresh basil bruschetta, tomato bruschetta, tomato mozzarella bruschetta | posted in Breads, Italian, Salads, Snacks & Appetizers, Vegetarian
May
3
2010
I came across a delicious looking cobb salad on one of my favorite blogs recently. I did my own representation of the recipe a few weeks back and never posted the picture. The presentation of the salad was a little different as I wanted it to be easier for a group of people to scoop out a serving with all the goodies in it rather than trying to mix them in. I highly recommend this recipe, it was so satisfying and tasty. In fact I am already hungry for it again! Here is Smitten Kitchen’s Classic Cobb Salad recipe.
1 comment | tags: classic cobb salad, Cobb Salad, romaine lettuce salad, smitten kitchen, spring salad | posted in Salads, Snacks & Appetizers
Apr
15
2010
Since, we are already on the Lavosh bread kick… I wanted to share another simple and DELICIOUS recipe for lunch. It’s the perfect cool lunch wrap to a hot afternoon. If you are making this for one person you may want to simply cut the piece of lavosh bread in half, but if you want to share lunch with a friend, just simply cut the wrap in half after its made… it makes a pretty large wrap for each person.
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2 comments | tags: baby arugula, baby arugula salad wrap, Dijon mustard vinaigrette, ham and feta salad wrap, Lavosh bread wrap, salad wrap | posted in Health, Picnics, Pork, Salads
Feb
7
2010
The simple ingredients in this recipe speak for themselves. It is one of the freshest and most delicious combinations of food I’ve ever eaten, and it always, always puts me in a good mood. The fresh mozzarella, crisp ripe tomato slices, the olive oil, fresh basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, and the kosher salt… DO NOT forget the salt…. and in my opinion don’t use anything but coarse Kosher salt… or some other form of coarse salt. That really makes a difference. Yes… I am addicted to this salad… I can make an entire meal out of it and never feel guilty about gobbling up several slices. Make it… enjoy it… then invite some people over for dinner.. and make it again!
Tomato Mozzarella Salad
2-4 Vine ripened tomatoes OR 4-6 Roma tomatoes
Bel Gioioso Fresh Mozzarella (about 16 oz.)
Fresh basil leaves (about 6-8 leaves)
Balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt (or any other coarse salt)
Slice the mozzarella into 1/2 inch slices. Slice the tomatoes into slices. Arrange the slices alternating the mozzarella and tomatoes in a row, as you see in the picture above on a platter. Drizzle with olive oil and then with balsamic vinegar until all the tomatoes and mozzarella slices are coated. Sprinkle with a pinch of Kosher salt. Stack 4 basil leaves together at a time and roll up tightly like a, pardon the expression, “cigarette” size log. Make slices along the rolled up leaves with a knife. Loosen the leaves and you should see strips of basil leaves, as in the picture above. Sprinkle the strings of basil all over the slices of mozzarella and tomatoes. Serve chilled.
no comments | tags: basil tomato salad, Fresh Mozzarella, Mozzarella Tomato Salad, Tomato salad | posted in Salads, Snacks & Appetizers
Jul
29
2009
During the July/August summer heat in Phoenix temperatures regularly rise well above 110 degrees this time of year, leaving me little desire to turn on the oven or even run outside on the back patio to check the meat on the grill. Thus, I have been spending recent days figuring out easy, no fuss, cool, light, and refreshing recipes for dinner. This is one of the successful ones so far. If you like PF Chang’s lettuce wraps, you should enjoy these too!
For Sauce:
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. chicken broth/ or substitute with about 3-4 Tbsp. water, I’ve made this both ways and it comes out very similar
1 small clove of crushed garlic
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
pinch of cumin
1 Tsp. sweet and hot mustard (Chinese mustard)
2 squirts or so of Sriracha chili sauce (The more squirts, the spicier the sauce!)
Add all contents to a small mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined. Set aside.
For Filling:
3 chicken Breasts, cut up into small chunks
Baby Portobello mushrooms, chopped very small
3-4 scallions, sliced thin
1 can of water chestnuts, chopped in very small pieces
1 Head of Lettuce (any kind, I used iceberg lettuce because it was cheap and simple at the time)
(optional additions to give it more of a twist: bean sprouts, spinach, glass noodles, or shredded carrot)
Heat a large skillet on medium heat, drizzle about a Tbsp. of olive oil in the pan and wait until it is heated through. Add the chicken pieces and cook for a few minutes until they are just about done, but not browned. Add mushrooms, scallions, and water chestnuts to the pan and stir fry until just tender. Pour over the prepared sauce you set aside earlier and stir mixture until it is all well coated. Cook for about 1-2 minutes longer until chicken is cooked through and begins to brown. Remove from heat and pour mixture into a serving bowl. Meanwhile remove whole leaves of the lettuce and wash and pat dry. Set loose lettuce leaves on a plate to serve.
To make a lettuce wrap:
Grab one of the lettuce leaves.
Put a spoonful of the chicken mixture down the center of the lettuce leaf.
Roll up like an eggroll and enjoy!
** sorry I don’t have pictures…If i make them again I will try to snap a few.**
no comments | tags: Asian, Chicken, lettuce wraps, portobello mushrooms, salad | posted in Chicken, Salads
