Recipe of the Week – Heritage Tomato Salad
From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com
Heritage Tomato Salad
For those of you who don’t know what heritage tomatoes are or those who haven’t tried them yet; a word of caution. You probably won’t experience a “WOW” moment. While some of these tomatoes are very good; most are just over-priced. Having said that, they look really great in a salad. This is one of those salads that adds color to your meal and provides a chance to add your own ideas; adding your special touch to everything from burgers to fresh grilled fish.
Don’t have feta, add blue cheese or shaved Romano. Like olives, add them; like capers add them. Got some bread laying around, make croutons and add them. Add grilled chicken, shrimp or steak for a great lunch. Support your local Farmers’ Market and buy some tomatoes.
Heritage Tomato Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Welcome Fall Dinner (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 1 | lb | heritage tomato |
| 2 | Tb | cilantro |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 0.25 | cup | cheese, feta, crumbled |
| 1 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
Cut tomatoes into bite size wedges. Place in bowl, add remaining ingredients, toss, let rest for 10 minutes and serve.
More salads and great meal ideas at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – The Ultimate Burger
From the Beef Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com
Campy's Burger
A couple of weeks ago, when the New Jersey gang was in town, we went over to the Kentucky side of the Ohio River to have lunch. We stopped at a small storefront cafe called Bellevue Bistro as they have a huge, eclectic menu. Everything from skillet breakfast to great salads. My brother-in-law tried their coffee-rubbed burger and declared it the best burger he had ever had. Once we were home again he asked me how he could recreate this wonderful burger. The problem was he didn’t give me a bite when we were there. We went back and forth pulling together details of the burger; finally I decided to go over to the restaurant again and try it myself.
This is one very large burger and every bit as good as he said. I think I have it just right below. Give it a try!
Campy’s Burger
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Beef Entrée |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 2 | Tb | dry rub |
| 1 | Tb | coffee, ground |
| 2 | lb | beef, ground, extra lean |
| 8 | slices | bacon |
| 4 | slices | cheese, cheddar |
| 4 | tsp | bbq sauce, hickory |
| 4 | large | pretzel rolls |
Make or buy the dry rub; add the ground coffee and mix. Make 1/3rd pound burgers, sprinkle dry rub mixture evenly on both sides of burgers. Heat the grill or a heavy pan to high heat; sear burgers on both sides and then cook to desired doneness. Cook bacon and drain. Put burgers on rolls and place 2 slices of bacon on each burger along with 1 slice of cheddar cheese and a tsp of the bbq sauce.
Note: substitute any egg roll for the pretzel roll. Add optional lettuce, tomato and onion, if desired.
Great burger ideas and more at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Capt Jim’s Asparagus Lasagna
From the Starch/ Pasta Collection at emealsforyou.com
Capt Jim's Asparagus Lasagna
After completing a long road trip for a visit to our “old” neighbors in Virginia we settled in to enjoy the company, weather and especially the food. Capt Jim, as we call him on this blog and our website, emealsforyou.com, has dedicated a lot of his time to perfecting the art of cooking. We looked forward to his fresh baked bread but had no idea he was preparing short ribs for dinner the first night. We thought he would have a hard time upstaging these wonderfully tasty and tender ribs the next night but were more than pleasantly surprised by his Asparagus Lasagna on Saturday. The lasagna was perfectly cooked and all the flavors blended together to form a spectacular visual as well as a true gourmet entrée. Jim finished the evening off with a delightfully flavorful but light Grapefruit Granita for dessert.
It was a great visit; with great friends and more than great food. I only hope we can return the favor when they come to our home.
Capt Jim’s Asparagus Lasagna
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Starch/ Pasta |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 9 | sheets | lasagna noodles |
| 16 | oz | sun-dried tomatoes, in oil |
| 1.5 | cups | basil leaves, whole |
| 1.25 | cups | cheese, parmesan, grated |
| 0.25 | lb | pancetta |
| 1 | medium | onions, diced |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 1 | lb | asparagus |
| 1 | 16 oz. container | cheese, ricotta |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 2 | cups | cheese, mozzarella, shredded |
| 2 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
Boil salted water; add 1 TB olive oil and pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Rinse and drain pasta; separate sheets. Combine sun-dried tomatoes and basil in a food processor; remove to a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Brown pancetta in a sauce pan; remove when done. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan, add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender. Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces and add to the pan and cook until tender. Remove asparagus and onions from the pan to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the ricotta, salt and pepper. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle some of the sun-dried tomato mixture over the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking pan. Place a layer of the lasagna sheets in the pan; add half of the asparagus mixture; spread evenly over the pasta. Sprinkle 1/3rd of the mozzarella and 1/3rd of the remaining Parmesan on top; repeat the pasta and mixtures; ending with the a pasta layer and the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Dot the top with the butter and bake until heated through and golden. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Note: You may substitute any good ham for the pancetta and a good low-moisture cottage cheese for the ricotta.
See more of Capt Jim’s recipes at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Peach Melba Crisp
From the Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com
Peach Melba Crisp
I advocate meal planning to save money and save your sanity. Planning your meals makes it easier to feed your family great meals that are cost effective and offer good nutrition. Our website emealsforyou.com provides numerous aids, ideas and hundreds of meal plans and recipes to choose from. Having said all this we also advocate using fresh, local produce whenever possible. This helps support your regional or local Farmers’ Markets and also provides great food.
Our normal Saturday includes stops at the local Farmers’ Market and lo and behold the fresh peaches are starting to show up. Now we are really fond of the peaches from the Carolinas but have to wait a few more weeks, so we settled on the Georgia peaches. We had a dinner party planned that evening with slow cooked ribs and I thought a Peach Crisp would top off the evening. I noticed I had an abundance of raspberry jam in the fridge so I decided to add that to the recipe. Boy what a difference. The jam blended into the nooks and crannies and provided a visual and well as very tasteful addition to what was going to be a good crisp; raising it to a great crisp.
This quick and easy dessert may become your go-to dessert for those backyard bbq’s or to take to a friend’s for a dessert party. We had ours with good vanilla ice cream; why not, when you go this far a few more calories won’t hurt that much. Go to go now and walk my 3 miles; it might be guilt from the dessert.
Peach Melba Crisp
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 1 | spritz | PAM |
| 2.5 | cups | flour, all-purpose |
| 2 | cups | sugar, granulated |
| 2 | lb | peaches, fresh |
| 0.5 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 3 | Tb | raspberry jam |
| 1 | cup | fruit juice, any fruit |
| 1 | Tb | cinnamon. ground |
| 4 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 1 | Tb | sugar, finishing |
Spray bottom of 10 X 10 baking pan with PAM; mix 1/2 of the flour and 1/3 of the sugar together. Sprinkle enough in pan to cover bottom about 1/2 “ thick. Peel peaches and cut into slices, mix with brown sugar and arrange evenly around pan. Place dabs of the jam on the peaches. Mix remaining flour and the remaining sugar together, cover top with remaining flour/sugar mixture, add fruit juice. Sprinkle top with cinnamon. Cut butter into small pieces and dot top of crisp. Sprinkle top with the finishing sugar. Bake @ 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crunchy
You may can find the rib recipe as well as many great summer dessert recipes at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Spinach Salad
(From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Spinach Salad
This was the weekend of “food”. The trip to NJ to pick up my mother-in-law went without any problems with the exception of an hour delay on Rt. 70 for a truck accident. We planned the meals in advance; after all this is a meal planning website, so in line with my mother-in-laws love of everything “salad” they were a big part of the weekend. We started with a refreshing Watermelon Salad on Friday with grilled burgers. Saturday was a 2 salad day with an Italian Salad with lunch and the Spinach Salad with the dinner of Chicken Piccata. Rounding out the weekend was a wonderful Caesar Salad with grilled porterhouse steaks; served with a Gorgonzola cheese sauce.
The spinach salad is always a favorite with the tart dressing mingling with the sweet sour cranberries and toasted pecans. My brother-in-law came out to spend some time with us and drove my mother-in-law back to NJ. As a special treat for their ride back I made, you guessed it, chicken salad sandwiches.
Spinach Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Guest Who’s Coming to Dinner (Distinctive Dinners) |
| 1 | lb | spinach, fresh baby |
| 3 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
| 1 | tsp | garlic powder |
| 3 | oz | cheese, feta, crumbled |
| 2 | Tb | cheese, Romano, grated |
| 0.25 | cup | cranberries, dried |
| 0.25 | cup | pecans, halved |
| 0.25 | cup | mushrooms, sliced |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Lightly toast pecans. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and toss.
Catch these salad ideas along with a bunch more at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Date and Nut Bread
From the Breads Collection at emealsforyou.com
Date & Nut Bread
Driving to NJ this week to pick up my mother-in-law and bring here back to Cincy for a visit. As I plan the meals I decided that one of the breakfasts would be a variety of breads and muffins; served on the deck in the morning sunshine. There is something relaxing about idling over a second cup of strong coffee and enjoying sweet breads adorned with a bit of butter or some creamy cream cheese.
The good news is I can make these ahead and simply pop them into a plastic baggie and then into the freezer to be rapidly thawed and served almost warm later in the week. I bake them in 4 inch springform pans so that I can take just the right amount out of the freezer and keep the rest for a later time. I think I will make some banana muffins, blue berry muffins and maybe a few palmiers just for grins.
Date & Nut Bread
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 1 | cup | Dates, dried, chopped |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, chopped |
| 0.33 | cup | karo syrup, dark |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking soda |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 3 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 0.75 | cup | water |
| 2 | large | egg |
| 0.75 | cup | sugar, granulated |
| 0.5 | cup | flour, whole wheat |
| 1 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 81/2 X 41/2 X 3 inch loaf pan.
Put dates, walnuts, baking soda, salt, karo syrup and butter in a bowl. Heat water to the boil and pour on top of date mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the flours and stir. Add in the date mixture and stir until well blended. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 40 -50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slide a knife around pan and invert over a serving plate. May be frozen.
Find the recipes for the muffins, the palmiers and more at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Watermelon Salad
(From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Watermelon Salad
Do you love watermelon but just think it may be time to try it in a different way? This recipe is for those who are looking for a refreshing salad to serve on a hot summer’s eve or maybe an easy lunch on the deck served with some homemade muffins. Either way it is a great way to get the kids eating salads and good enough to serve as a surprise for guests. Quick to make and easy to serve this is one I know is a keeper.
Watermelon Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Summer’s Night (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 0.33 | cup | pine nuts, toasted |
| 7 | cup | watermelon,seedless |
| 1 | cup | cheese, feta |
| 0.5 | medium | onion, red |
| 1 | cup | arugula |
| 0.33 | cup | cilantro, chopped |
| 0.25 | cup | oil, olive |
| 2 | Tb | lemon, juice of |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | pinch | salt to taste |
Toast pine nuts, Seed and cut watermelon into bite size pieces. Thinly slice onion, crumble feta and place in bowl with all other ingredients. Mix well, serve very cold.
For those watermelon “freaks” out there try the Watermelon Gazpacho with Crab Salad at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Warm Chicken Salad
(From the Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Warm Chicken Salad
It was warm in the Ohio Valley this weekend; and after a couple of days of running errands we settled in for a nice, light dinner on Sunday. Trying to figure out what we felt like proved difficult until I mentioned a Warm Chicken Salad, something we have in the summer and always find just right.
There is something special about a nice big salad topped off with a few pieces of warm chicken. Just the right amount of food to keep us happy without the heavy feeling of over-doing it on a warm night. Besides, we had room for a Klondike Bar a few hours later.
Warm Chicken Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 2 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 4 | cup | lettuce, mixed |
| 0.5 | tsp | garlic powder |
| 0.125 | Tb | oregano, dried |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 1 | Tb | vinegar, red wine |
| 6 | oz | chicken breast, cooked , skinless and boneless with pan juices |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
Place lettuce in a bowl; add garlic powder, oregano, oil and vinegar. Toss and place in center of plate. Heat chicken and pan juices. Cut chicken into slices and place on salad. Spoon pan juices on top and serve.
More Diet Friendly meals at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Brick Grilled Chicken
(From the Chicken Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Brick Grilled Chicken
Rainy, cold weather this weekend so I made a comfort meal. More like a diner meal: meatloaf, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy and peas… and rice pudding for dessert. On Sunday we overdid the beef theme and made a rib roast in Grandmother Story’s 100 year old Dutch Oven. So we are pretty “beefed out”. Looking for something a little lighter but with all the flavor a Brick Grilled Chicken seemed like a likely candidate.
This is a really great way to make a chicken that the whole family will enjoy and be easy on you. Simply split the chicken in half; at the backbone. Remove the backbone, season and put it on the grill and plop a brick wrapped in foil on top. Crispy, juicy and fulfilling this chicken is just what we needed; and we had no beef with that.
Brick Grilled Chicken
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Chicken Entrée |
| Meal: | Grill Baby Grill (Picnic Meal Plans) |
| 4 | lb | chicken, whole |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 0.5 | medium | lemon, juice of |
Cut or have your grocery store cut the backbone out of the chicken. Flatten it and rub oil and salt and pepper evenly over the skin. Heat grill to high, place chicken, skin side down on grill, place a brick covered with aluminum foil on top and cook for 20 minutes, turn over and cook for 10 more minutes. Remove and squeeze the juice of half a lemon on top, carve and serve.
More easy recipes and meal plans at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Kentucky Dark Fruitcake
(From the Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Kentucky Dark Fruitcake
Frequent readers will recall that I try to create recipes that mimic what people tell me they had and liked. It has become a game for me to take a description of a cake or cookie or meal that I have not had and probably not even seen and make it. This is how I got the “urge” to try to re-create this dark, moist fruitcake that my mother-in-law has mentioned on recent trips back to New Jersey. She tells me she had it as a child and didn’t think back then to get the recipe. Researching all the options on the internet and asking my neighbor for any she has from growing up near Lexington, KY, I came up with a few that looked promising.
My instructions from my mother-in-law were that the cake was very dark, very moist and had some seeds in it. My first try came out really good tasting but a little dry and too light in color to pass the test. The second try came out just right, or just right as far as I think. The proof will be after my m-i-l receives her pieces in the mail (going out today) and lets me know how I did.
If you haven’t had this as a child you should give this recipe a try. It is about perfect for those lazy coffee and morning-bread summer breakfasts on the deck or as dessert with a little cinnamon ice cream on the side.
Kentucky Dark Fruitcake
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 0.5 | cup | raisins |
| 0.5 | cup | Dates, dried, chopped |
| 0.5 | cup | figs, chopped |
| 2 | Tb | bourbon, Jack Daniels |
| 1 | cup | butter, unsalted |
| 1 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 2 | large | egg |
| 0.33 | cup | molasses |
| 1 | cup | blackberry, jam |
| 8 | oz | apple sauce |
| 1.75 | cups | flour, all-purpose |
| 0.5 | cup | flour, whole wheat |
| 0.5 | tsp | baking soda |
| 2 | tsp | cinnamon. ground |
| 0.5 | tsp | allspice, ground |
| 0.5 | tsp | cloves, ground |
| 0.5 | tsp | nutmeg, ground |
| 1 | cup | pecans, toasted |
| 2 | oz | bourbon, Jack Daniels |
Combine raisins, chopped dates and chopped figs in a bowl with the bourbon; allow to sit for an hour, stirring occasionally. Cream butter with brown sugar, beat eggs and combine with jam, molasses and apple sauce. Add slowly to the butter mixture and mix. In a separate bowl combine the flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda and the spices and add to wet mixture. Mix to combine, add the raisins, dates and fig along with the toasted, chopped pecans and stir to blend. Spoon into a greased and floured bundt pan, bake at 375 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes; until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool prior to serving. You may sprinkle additional bourbon on the top at this time.
More breakfast ideas and some bourbon ideas at emealsforyou.com.
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