Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup (from Woman’s Day, Servings: 4-5, Total Time: 45 minutes)

Ingredients

·         2 ½ pound(s) plum tomatoes, halved

·         3 Tbsp. olive oil

·         Kosher salt

·         Pepper

·         1 large red onion, chopped

·         4 cloves (large) garlic, chopped

·         2 jalapeños, seeded (if desired) and chopped

·         4 cups vegetable broth

Directions

1.       Heat oven to 400 degrees F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss tomatoes with 1 Tbsp. oil and ¼ tsp. each salt and pepper. Roast until very tender and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.

2.       Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add onion, season with ½ tsp. each salt and pepper, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally until very tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in garlic and jalapeños and cook for 2 minutes.

3.       Transfer tomatoes and any pan juices to the pot. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender (or a standard blender, working in batches), purée soup.

This recipe is pretty simple to make.  I decided to make it when some of my generous neighbors dropped off a ton of their homegrown tomatoes.  Overall, the taste was pretty good, very tomatoey (as expected), but not spicy at all, even with jalapeños that were not seeded!  I added some red pepper flakes to kick up the spiciness to my level.  My husband enjoyed it as is.  A very creamy soup without the added fat from actually using cream – perfect!

Sweet BBQ Chik’n Kabobs

Sweet BBQ Chik’n Kabobs (slightly adapted from Kraft Recipes, Servings: 4, Total Time: 25 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 package Trader Joe’s Chickenless Chicken Strips

·         2 cups pineapple chunks (I used canned)

·         1 each red and green pepper, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces

·         ½ cup BBQ sauce

·         3 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Directions

1.)    Heat grill to medium-high heat

2.)    Thread chickenless chicken strips alternately with pineapple and peppers onto 8 long wooden skewers, using 2 skewers placed side-by-side for each kabob.

3.)    Mix BBQ sauce and juice concentrate; brush half evenly onto kabobs.

4.)    Grill 8-10 minutes, turning and brushing occasionally with remaining sauce.

This recipe is easy to make, low on calories and fat – and pretty tasty too.  I find it very sweet (from the OJ concentrate and pineapples), but also a little savory from the BBQ sauce.  The peppers remain crisp and add a nice component to the soft chikn and pineapple chunks.  I actually just warmed mine up in a pan instead of using skewers because I was really low on time, but I think grilling would be great, too.  I also like that this dish is so colorful – red, yellow, green!  It makes for a nice plate.  I recommend serving with rice, or wrapped in a tortilla or pita bread.

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Servings: 24, Total Time: 1 hour)

Ingredients

·         24 vanilla ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped

·         2 (8 oz.) containers fat-free whipped topping

·         1 (12 oz.) jar hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

·         ¼ cup chopped candy (I used Reese’s Cups, a friend of mine used Heath bars)

Directions

1.)    Arrange a layer of ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of a 9x13-inch dish; top with a layer of whipped topping, hot fudge topping, and chopped candy. Repeat layering with remaining ice cream sandwiches, whipped topping, hot fudge topping, and candy.

2.)    Cover dish with aluminum foil and freeze until set, at least 30 minutes.

This is probably the most delicious dessert that is this easy to make!  Ice cream, chocolate, fudge, and candy?  Delicious!!  As would be expected, this is super chocolatey, but I am more than OK with that.  I love the hard crunch of the candy against the softness of the other ingredients.  I also want to try Kit-Kats as a topping.  If you like chocolate at all – I definitely recommend this dish.  I also love that it is so easy to make – and, you can make a mini size if it’s just for one (or two).

Baked Squash and Pesto Gratin

Baked Squash and Pesto Gratin (adapted from Avocado Pesto, Servings: 4, Total Time: 1 hour)

Ingredients

·         2 large yellow summer squash

·         2 medium tomatoes

·         ⅓ cup basil pesto

·         1 cup shredded Italian cheese

·         salt and pepper

Instructions

1.)    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.)    Grease the bottom and sides of a baking dish with pesto.

3.)    Slice the squash and tomatoes into ¼ inch rounds.

4.)    Layer squash and tomatoes in a baking dish, brushing tops of each layer with pesto and sprinkling some salt and pepper.

5.)    Top with shredded cheese.

6.)    Bake for 45 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the cheese has started to brown.

I had an open jar of pesto that I wanted to use and this recipe seemed like a perfect “excuse”.  I love summer squash – and if you pair it with cheese, it’s kind of difficult to go wrong.  I used the same ingredients as the original recipe, except that I used shredded Italian cheese because that’s what we had in our refrigerator.  I also made this into a casserole, whereas the original recipe says to use one baking sheet.

The taste was very Italian-ish, with the pesto and cheese.  The squash stayed a bit crunchy, which was a nice consistency against the soft tomato.  Overall, not a bad dish and pairs well with Trader Joe’s Italian Sausage-less sausage.