Simple Tomato Salad or Brushetta...

I have been stressing out a little. We are out of our place by Oct. 1 but as of right now, we are not sure where we are headed. If my husbands job will be starting, we will be in Gainesville, FL or we may have to linger here for a little longer until it starts. Extended Stay, maybe.....I just want this job to start and for the stress to diminish.

Good thing: this recipe is stress free, delish and made with all farmers market fresh veggies. I go to an incredible farmers market every wed. I stock my fridge! Today I got: 5 lbs pea pods, 3 lbs green beans, 20 Roma tomatoes, 6 Orange Acid Free tomatoes, 15 apples, 12 plums, 2 lbs bananas, 6 heads of Bibb lettuce, 12 HUGE carrots, 4 red peppers, 4 green peppers, cilantro, red onion, 1 lb cherry tomatoes, 6 ears of corn, 2 Big cucumbers, 1lb jalapenos = 35.00!!!!! You can't beat it!!!! I love that place. It has about 40 to 50 vender's and it is at a Fair Grounds. It takes 20 min. to get there, but I make the trek every Wed. no matter what.

What did I make with what I received? WELL....
My husband has been gone since Monday, that is another reason for my lack of posting. I have no one to cook for, but I will make up for that. I am entertaining this weekend and I am planning to be in the kitchen baking ALL day.

I made a Simple salad or put it on toasted bread for a simple brushetta...

My Simple Orange Tomato Salad

1/4 cp. of Greek Salad Dressing
3 TB Parm Cheese
4-6 TB fresh basil cut in shreds
salt and pepper

Mix together for the dressing

4 Orange Tomatoes
1/4 cp. diced red onions
1 container of small mozzarella balls, each one cut in half

(If you are using bread rub garlic on the bread!!)

WOW! Yes, this tasted as good as it looks. LOL.

Caramel Brownies

I found these wonderful brownies here.
It is by recipegirl.com. WOW. WOW. WOW.
They are absolutely amazing. I made them for my kiddos doctor and staff for being such wonderful people. I love them and truly trust them with my children's care. They deserve something special to show they are appreciated.
They were a huge hit. At my house. At the doctors office.
As you can tell, I love brownies. But I do believe these are my new favorite. Check them out.

Mozzarella Stuffed Hot Sausage Meatballs

My husband loves hot and spicy. I found a recipe in Racheal Ray Mag and I knew I wanted to make it, but I changed a few things to add more flavor and to make in my recipe. It was a great alternative. I must admit, I did make a new type of spicy sauce to go with the meatballs. I will include the sauce. It is going to be my new quick marinara sauce.

I wanted to make a big dinner tonight because my husband is leaving for four days and will be on the road eating at restaurants and fast food. I made a feast: Orange Tomato Brushetta, Stuffed MB and Pasta, and Caramel Chocolate Brownies. I will post the other food sometime during the week.



Mozzarella Stuffed Hot Italian Sausage Meatballs

2lbs of Hot Italian Sausage, removed from casing
1/2 cp. bread crumbs
1/2 cp. fresh parm cheese
1/4 cp. fresh basil and Parsley
1 container of small fresh mozzarella balls


Mix the parm. cheese, basil, parsley and bread crumbs together
Form in little patties and top with one mozzarella ball in the middle.

Form the meat around the mozzarella ball.

Brown on 400. I flipped after 5 min. and cooked for another 5 min. I then put it in my sauce to continue the cooking.

The final product! Yum!

The SAUCE

2 TB olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 green bell, chopped

1 hot Italian green banana pepper, chopped

1 28 oz. crushed tomatoes

1 lg. can of tomatoes paste

1 24 oz. diced tomatoes

3 tsp. Italian seasoning

3 TB fresh parsley and basil

salt and pepper

1. Add the oil and saute the veggies until soft. Add all of the tomato paste and stir. Add the rest of the tomatoes. Add the seasoning. Let cook. I usually let my sauce cook all day. This will make a thick and hearty sauce.

ENJOY!!!

Seafood FEAST!

My husband was driving all over FL yesterday and did not have a chance to stop for lunch. He came home hungry and tired. I figured I would surprise him with a favorite: Seafood Feast. What is more comforting then a HUGE bowl of steamed shrimp and mussels, with Sourdough bread to soak up the yummy broth and crab cakes? In my mind, there is nothing better. This dinner was so satisfying.

The Perfect Crab cake
2 TB butter
2 TB Olive Oil
1 Bell pepper, cut in small squares, diced
1 Green Pepper, diced
4 green onions, diced
4 tsp. hot sauce (The hubby and I love spicy)
3 tsp. old bay
1 TB Parsley

1. TAKE ALL THE INGREDIENTS AND SAUTE UNTIL SOFT.

Crab meat, half a lb.
1/3 cp. mayo
1/2 cp. seasoned bread crumbs
2 TB Dijon mustard
2 eggs

2. Mix together.
3. After the sauteed mixture cools mix it with the wet ingredients. Form patties and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes
4. Brown with oil and butter.

Steamed Mussels and Shrimp

1 lb Mussels
1 lb shrimp
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cp. white wine
1/4 cp. diced bell peppers
1.4 cp. diced green onions
4 chopped garlic cloves
1/4 cp. fresh parsley
1/2 to 1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1. Add the butter and the veggies and crushed red pepper and saute until soft. Add the wine and cook until reduced by 1/2. Add the mussels, shrimp and parsley. Cover and until all the mussels are open and the shrimp is pink.

Serve with warm sourdough bread to dip with the yummy broth!!!!!

My Moms Awesome Cobbler

This was a childhood favorite. Where ever I bring this dish it gets rave reviews. My favorite way to have it is warm with a little milk....mmmmh. A perfect morning with a huge cup of coffee. Not to mention, this is one of the easiest recipe that I have ever used....




MY MOMS COBBLER

4 cps of any fruit (blueberries,peach,apples,so on)
2 cps sugar
2 sticks of butter, soft
2 cps flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cp. milk


1. Mix the butter and sugar until fluffy. Slowly add the milk.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add to the wet.



3. Toss the fruit in a little sugar. Put the fruit in a greased 9 X 13 pan.

4. Add to the fruit. Level.

5. Bake on 350 for about 50 minutes to an hour.

Eat! This is so moist and yummy. It will not disappoint!!!

Chocolate Chip and MM Cookies

I actually went out with my husband this weekend. It was so fun. I forgot how much fun we can have together. We went to City Walk at Universal. While we had fun my kiddos were being baby sat for the second time in their little lives. I know, I know!!! That is horrible that I only left them twice, but trust me after this weekend I am going to try to do it more often!!! I had the time of my life!!

My best friend's 16 year old daughter watched my girls. She was so awesome! She is hands down the most mature, level headed, incredible sixteen year old I know. Not to mention, she has three siblings under the age of three. This makes it easy to handle a screaming 20 mo. old Bailey. When I walked in the door at 1 a.m. she had my screaming baby in her arms fast asleep. How awesome is that?!

Anyway, I knew she was coming to watch my girls. So, what do you make a growing 16 yr. old!?!? Yummy, HUGE, M and M Cookies! These turned out so great! Take my word for it! I made 36 of these GIGANTIC Cookies on Saturday and they were gone by Sunday! No joke!

I had a great weekend with my hubby and kiddos! I hope everyone enjoyed their 3 day weekend!!!!

ENJOY!!

The recipe:

4 cps. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cps. melted unsalted butter
1 cp. brown sugar
2 cp. white sugar
2 TB Vanilla Extract
2 Egg
2 Egg yolks
2 cp. Hershey Chocolate Chips
2 cp. MandM's

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix together the sugars and butter until fluffy. Add the extract and one egg at a time.
2. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
3. Fold in the chips and MandM's.
4. Add about 1/4 cp. of the batter per cookie. Bake on 325 for about 10-15 min. When brown around the edges.

EAT!!!!

ORANGE Marinara Sauce...And A Story of Inspiration!!

I want to share a story with you. I think it is very inspiring and gives me some hope and makes me strive as a parent. As I get older and time is flying by I see a lot of people worrying to much about themselves and not stopping to smell the roses (so to speak). For example, how many times does someone open the door for you? Or a complete stranger help you load groceries? So on and So on. This was common many years back.

Anyway, my husband and I went to the store for our weekend amount of DVD rentals. While I was waiting for my husband in our family truckster with two crazy kiddos I saw the most inspiring and generous act. An old lady was walking into the store, but barely. She was very old and was having so much trouble. All of a sudden a young lady ran into the store and I seen her riding out on a motorized cart! She drove it up to the lady and helped her on it. The young lady then walked away and continued her day. WOW! I was so moved! Is that crazy!?

How great is that? How inspiring? I open doors for people and give away my cart to a person in need of one . I found a purse opened spewing out money in a grocery cart and turned it in right away. I make food for girlfriends who just had a baby or who are sick. I thank my phenomenal parents for that. They have instilled many value inside me. I am so grateful. Now, that I am a mother I hope that I can instill the same into my daughters. I hope they would be that girl to run into the store to help an elder lady having trouble getting her own grocery cart. *Fingers Crossed*

Switch of moods...Orange Marinara Sauce!!!!
I know..It sounds crazy, but I came across these beautiful orange tomatoes. I tasted them and they were WONDERFUL...so I had to make a sauce from it!!!!

CHECK IT OUT!

ORANGE MARINARA SAUCE

About 10-12 Orange Tomatoes
2 TB Olive Oil
1 Orange bell pepper, diced

1 Sweet Yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

3 tsp. Italian seasoning (I usually use fresh herbs, but I wanted to cook this all day and let the flavors mingle)

3 TB. of Parm. Cheese

Optional:

Browned Sausage

Basil Garnish

The Orange tomatoes!!! Boil in a pot for 5 minutes. Strain. Let cool. Remove skin and seeds. Chop. Add to the sauce pot with the sauteed veggies.

While the Tomatoes are boiling saute the veggies on low with 2 TB of Olive oil. You want to cook the onions, peppers, garlic and crushed red pepper where you are almost caramelizing the garlic. Cook low until browned and then add the tomatoes.

Let the veggies mingle. Cook down. Puree in the food processor and add back to the pot. Add the dried or fresh herbs. Let cook. Add the cheese.

Toss the noodles in the sauce to coat.

This is Alex's dish. LOL. Notice the Princess plate? She asked me to take a picture...How could I say no?!

The dish I made for the hubby. I added spicy browned sausge!! YUM!