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Posts Tagged ‘tomatoes’

Wheatberry and Tomato Basil Salad

September 26, 2011 by erinRD

What a fun weekend! We went to the County Line Orchard for some apple picking, pumpkin patching and hat riding! Lots of hot apple cider and caramel apples! I love fall!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups wheatberries
1 ripe tomato, chopped
5 basil leaves, finely chopped
2 green onions, diced
3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup feta cheese

Directions

1. To prepare the wheatberries, boil them on the stovetop until tender. Drain and add to a mixing bowl.
2. Chop the tomato and add to the wheatberries.
3. Next, add the basil, feta cheese and green onions and combine. In a small bowl, make the dressing. Add the balsamic vinegar. Pour in the olive oil and whisk vigorously.
4. Pour over the wheatberry mixture. Add salt and pepper. Combine until the mixture is well coated. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Nutrition Notes

Loaded with fiber and protein! Read more about wheatberries!

Taste Test

Delicious and simple! I loved the chewy wheat berries and the rest of the salad was super easy to put together!

Enjoy!

Category Uncategorized | Tags: meatlessmonday,salad,tomatoes,wheat berry,wheatberries | 2 Comments
Tomato Basil Spaghetti

September 8, 2011 by erinRD

Adapted from Serious Eats

I’m still getting a lot of those wonderful tomatoes from the yard.

Let’s make some wonderful sauce!

Ingredients

16 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
Salt, to taste
4 cups tomato sauce (recipe follows – make this first)
4 large leaves of basil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
Pinch of red chili flakes
Pinch of kosher salt

Tomato Sauce
16 garden fresh tomatoes
salt, to taste
2 Tablespoons + 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, whole
4 stems of basil, leaves on
Pinch of red chili flakes

Directions

Tomato Sauce
1. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise.
2. In a new pot, place 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, carefully transfer tomatoes to the pot. Add a pinch of salt and chili flakes.

3. Allow the tomatoes to cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften, then smash them with a potato masher.

Allow tomatoes to cook 30 to 45 minutes over medium heat, smashing and stirring occasionally.

4. While the tomatoes are cooking, prepare the basil-garlic oil. Take a small saucepan and place the remaining 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil in the pan. Add garlic cloves, basil, and chili flakes.

5. Slowly heat to allow the flavors to transfer to the oil. When the garlic is lightly browned, remove from the heat. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Strain the oil and combine with the tomato mixture.

Discard the remaining basil leaves and garlic cloves.

6. Remove the sauce from the heat and adjust the seasoning with additional salt, as needed. Makes 4 cups.

Spaghetti
1. Place a large pot of water on the stove. Season with salt and bring to a boil.
2. Roll basil leaves into a cylinder and thinly cut lengthwise and set aside.
3. Cook the spaghetti in the water and remove when it is just shy of al dente – depending on the pasta, 3 minutes for fresh, 10 minutes for dried.
4. While the pasta is cooking, place the sauce into a sauté pan and heat slowly. Allow the sauce to reduce slightly.
5. After done, add the pasta to the sauce, and allow to finish cooking, over medium high heat. The sauce should coat the pasta and look cohesive. When you shake the pan, the sauce and pasta should move together.
6. Remove from the heat and add the basil and cheese. Toss until well incorporated.
7. Adjust the seasoning and serve immediately with meatballs, if desired! Serves 8. Nutrition information does not include meatballs.

Nutrition Notes

When you use fresh ingredients, you don’t need to add a lot of things to it! Leave the skins on the tomatoes for extra fiber!

Taste Test

Hands down the best marinara sauce I’ve had. I think it had to do with the fresh garden tomatoes but the infused basil oil played a part too! So delicious and easy too!

Enjoy!!

Category Uncategorized | Tags: basil,infused oil,Italian,olive oil,pasta,spaghetti,tomatoes | 1 Comment
Roasted Garlic

August 26, 2011 by erinRD

Happy Friday!

Look at all the tomatoes in my yard – and these aren’t even all of them. I took them to work and gave them away to my happy co-workers! I am planning on making spaghetti sauce this weekend too!

Roasted Garlic

Whole garlic bulbs
olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

3. Place the garlic heads in muffin pan. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head.

4. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed. Wait for the intoxicating aroma to fill your kitchen.
5. Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Peal off the skin from the garlic. It should come off easily.

Nutrition Notes: Garlic (along with onions) have anti-inflammatory properties. It’s also filled with manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C and sulfur. Studies have shown that the sulfur in garlic can decreased blood pressure, help prevent blood vessel blockage, reduce inflammation and help to reduce cancer risk.

Taste Test: Like most foods, roasting changes the flavor – for the better. Roasted garlic is a recipe changer – it’s delicious! If you’re not going to use all of that garlic within about a week, you can freeze it! Once you’ve extracted the garlic, spoon it into a quart sized freezer bag. Can be stored up to about six months. Because of the oils, the garlic never freezes ice hard so it’s easy to break off or cut off as much or as little as you need. If you’re using it within the week, store in the fridge!

Did you know garlic helps to increase iron absorption?

Category Uncategorized | Tags: garden,roasted garlic,tomatoes | 5 Comments
Wheat Berry Salad

August 22, 2011 by erinRD

Hello.

I have a fantastic salad for you.

But before that – don’t you want to know about my first 10K race?

Wholesome Husband came with me – as always a big supporter even though I know he’d rather be sleeping. That man loves his sleep.

The course was through a forest preserve so I thought it would be nice a shady – but it was mostly prairies. So the sun was beating down a lot of the time – especially brutal on the last 2 miles when the sun was right in our face. That was pretty hellish – not gonna lie.

Here are the hardcore runners. They finished in like 33 minutes. Crazy people.

Can you find me in this picture? I was comfortably at the back of the pack. The race didn’t have a time chip, which was kind of annoying so the time that they had me at was probably about a minute off. But I did bring my Garmin with me for my “official” results.

I was trying to pass this runner in the straight away at the end – I was so tired…

Got her!

I look miserable and pretty bad at this point – I was definitely ready to be done. I felt good until the 5 mile mark and then running straight into the sun took its toll on me.

First 10K: 6.24 miles at 01:08:06 for a 10:54 min/mile pace.

Slower than I wanted but I’ll take it. Speed is not my thing but I am hoping to work on that this Fall.

As soon as I saw Wholesome Husband, I felt better. Please excuse the sweaty mess.

He also made me take silly pictures. What a meany.

So next up is the Hot Chocolate 15K in Chicago. Training starts this week! I hope to really improve my pace and feel really comfortable. Autumn is obviously the best time of the year to run so I’m all in!

Ok – so on to that salad that I teased you before with pictures!

Wheat Berry Salad
Adapted from Eat Live Run

1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup wheat berries
2 ears corn, shucked
1/2 cup red onion, minced
2 cups sliced grape tomatoes
1 avocado, diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 oz smoked mozzarella, cubed
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:
1. Soak the wheat berries in cold water overnight. In the morning, drain, replace with fresh water and simmer for 20 minutes, until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Simmer the quinoa in 1 1/2 cups water for 15 minutes until all the water has been absorbed. Fluff and add to the cooked wheat berries in a large bowl.

3. Add the corn kernels, red onion, avocado, mozzarella cubes and grape tomatoes to the grain mixture and toss well. Then drizzle in the olive oil, vinegar and salt. Mix well. Serves 4.

Nutrition Notes: Wheat berries are entire wheat kernel (except for the hull), comprising the bran, germ, and endosperm. Wheat berries contain about 6 grams of fiber and protein per one-fourth cup (uncooked) and about 150 calories. They also contain about 8 percent of the daily value for iron, per 1/4 cup.

Taste Test: I love love LOVE the chewy texture of the wheat berries! It reminds me of the texture of Farro. The combo of wheat berries and quinoa was so delicious! The raw corn was a delicious addition as well. This would be a perfect side salad for a party. With lots of fiber and protein this also makes for a perfect main dish!

Category Uncategorized | Tags: 10K race,corn on the cob,meatlessmonday,quinoa,salad,smoked mozarella,summer,tomatoes,wheat berry | 2 Comments
Grilled Sirloin Steak with Onions, Avocado and Tomatoes

May 27, 2011 by erinRD

The recent issue of Cooking Light featured a ton of grilling recipes. This one stuck out to me because of its simplicity and who doesn’t love grilled onions?!

Grilled Sirloin Steak with Onions, Avocado and Tomatoes
Adapted from Cooking Light

2 medium red onions, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 1/2 pounds top sirloin steak, trimmed
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 ripe peeled avocado, cut into 8 wedges

Directions:
1. Preheat grill to high heat. Lightly coat onions with cooking spray. Place onions on grill rack; grill 10 minutes on each side or until tender. Place onions in a medium bowl; cover tightly with foil. Keep warm.
2. Lightly coat steak with cooking spray; sprinkle steak with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper.

Place steak on grill rack; grill 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 3 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.
3. Add tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to onions; toss gently to combine.
4. Divide steak evenly among 6 plates; top with 1/2 cup tomato mixture. Cut avocado wedges in thirds crosswise. Top each serving with 4 avocado pieces. Serves 6.

Taste Test: This great Traders Joe’s meat was excellent. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the meat. This dish along with a baked potato and corn on the cob was the perfect grilling, outside, patio Memorial Day recipe!

Definitely worth the money – especially since I rarely buy steak or beef, for that matter. I’ve noticed with steak, all you need is salt, pepper and a little Worcestershire sauce for a perfect flavor!

Happy grilling and have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!

Category Uncategorized | Tags: avocado,grilling,Memorial Day recipes,red onion,sirloin,steak,tomatoes | No Comments
Chicken Parmesan with a Twist

February 9, 2011 by erinRD

In search of a healthy, easy and delicious weeknight meal? I have the perfect recipe. A twist on a classic dish. I don’t think you’ll ever revert to the original way of preparing this dish after trying…

Chicken Parmesan with a Twist
Adapted from Food and Wine

2 chicken breast halves, pounded thin
1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
1 eggs
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup skim milk
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup shredded 2% mozzarella
2 ounces turkey pepperoni
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 jar Barilla marinara sauce
salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces whole wheat pasta, cooked

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a shallow dish or pie plate, combine the eggs and milk. In another dish, pour the panko and in one more, spread the flour (you should have three shallow dishes all lined up). Add the Italian seasoning to the flour mixture.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and working with one breast at a time, dunk in the eggs/milk, then the panko and finally the flour. Repeat until all chicken breast halves have been battered.
4. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken breasts and lightly fry until golden on each side.

5. Drain the chicken on paper towels and then lay in a greased casserole dish. Cover with tomato sauce, Parmesan and mozzarella.
6. Finally, lay the pepperoni slices on top.

7. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over pasta. Serves 8.

Nutrition Notes: Tomatoes are my favorite summertime produce. (Confession: I typed “veggie” in place of “produce” but realized some people would call it a fruit but it doesn’t seem like a fruit to me. The End.) Tomatoes can be red, yellow, orange, green, brown or purple! They are loaded with vitamin C, niacin, folate and potassium. You may have heard of lycopene in the news over the recent years. It is an carotenoid found in red/pink fruits and vegetables such as watermelons, pink grapefruit and papayas but it’s mainly found in tomatoes and tomato sauces like used in this recipe. Lycopene has been shown to reduce cancer risk especially in colorectal, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic cancers. It has also been linked to prevention of heart disease including decreasing cholesterol levels.

Taste Test: You can use any brand of marinara sauce but my preference is Barilla. I think it tastes the best of any jar sauce and the husband actually asked if the sauce was homemade – it was that good. At first I wondered why the recipe calls for both Panko breadcrumbs and flour but this combination made for a nice crispy crust on the chicken. The flour filled in all the gaps left by the bigger Pancko breadcrumbs. So delicious!

Did you know that organic ketchup delivers about three times as much lycopene as non-organic brands?

Category Uncategorized | Tags: cheese,chicken,Italian,lycopene,parmesan,pasta,pepperoni,tomatoes | 4 Comments