Tomato Basil Pasta

Over the past few months, my husband and I have been trying to have a vegetarian meal one night a week. I know- to some people that is a crime! Being vegetarian is not necessarily healthy, but it is very economic and is healthy when done right. Since it is summer, vegetarian night has become one of my favorites. Veggies are just so darn good right now! This is also, yet another tomato and basil dish. I promise that with fall on the way, I'll stop posting about tomatoes. I will have to because our garden is slowing down and will be finished producing soon, but until then... I invite you to humor me with one more tomato dish and to try this vegetarian meal this week!

 

Here is one of my favorite mid-week vegetarian meals.

 

Tomato-Basil Pasta

1. Use this blog to to prepare your tomatoes. You need about 3-4 cups of raw, cut tomatoes. Follow the directions of the blog until your tomatoes are cooked. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil for pasta. Once boiling, add a dash of salt, one tsp. olive oil, and desired amount of pasta. I use whole-wheat pasta for the extra protein (something you need, but miss out on with sans-meat meals).
2. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. of pepper. Pour tomato sauce in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In the same pot, add 1 tbsp. olive oil. Saute one clove of garlic for about 1 minute on medium-low heat.
4. Add tomatoes back to the pot and add 1/2 c. of chopped basil. Cook for about 3 minutes on medium heat. If you like a smoother consistency, you can pop this mixture in the blender and make it as smooth as you like!

5. Place pasta in bowls, spoon sauce on top, and top with Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil for an extra bit of decadence.

 

 We did enjoy this meal without meat, but it is perfectly okay (and delicious) to add a grilled chicken breast seasoned with Italian seasonings. Also, if you don't want to prepare fresh tomatoes, a can of whole tomatoes works too. Just cut them to the consistency you want.

Happy Eating!

Tomato Basil Soup

I mentioned a few days ago that I love basil. This is a recipe for tomato basil soup. It's a lot like a normal tomato soup, but with a little something extra special! This is a dish that I make a TON of during the summer and then freeze it. It is perfect all year long. 

For this recipe, you'll need:

About 15 pounds of regular tomatoes (Use this blog post to prepare them)

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 c. chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1/2 c. basil

2 tbsp. 1% milk

2 tbsp. olive oil- divided

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 small red onion

1 garlic clove

 While your regular tomatoes are cooking away, you need to prepare your cherry tomatoes. Also, start sauteing chopped onion and garlic together over medium heat.

 Cut each tomato in half. 

 Place on a baking sheet, toss with salt and pepper, and 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Roast on 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

 Give your basil a rough chop. No need to be too meticulous here, because you'll be blending it later. Add cherry tomatoes, cooked onion and garlic, bay leaf, basil, chicken stock, and salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

 Add everything to the blender and blend until smooth. 

 You can make this as smooth or chunky as you like (you may not even want to blend it). I like mine pretty smooth, but with some texture. If you like that, leave about 1 1/2 cups of soup in the pot and don't blend it. Once you have your soup to the texture that you like, add back to the pot. Add milk and olive oil, stir well, and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. 

Serve with a grilled cheese or garlic bread. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do!

Lemon-Pesto

One of my favorite things about summer is being able to grow basil. I really enjoy making tomato-basil soup (I'll share in a few days) and pesto. If you have ever made pesto or even seen it packaged, you know that it has a ton of oil in it. This recipe is actually my mother in law's and it's perfect. She's been making it for years- before healthy was trendy! It is a little more creamy because of the lack of oil-- but equally delicious.

What you need:

3 cups of fresh basil

1 garlic clove

1/4 c. parmesan cheese

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. Pine Nuts

Juice of 2 lemons

Salt and pepper

 Use only the greenest leaves of basil. 

 A few years ago, you could only find them at specialty food stores, but this summer I was able to find them at Walmart and Food Lion. They are a little pricey, so keep them in the freezer while you aren't using them.

 Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth. If it seems a little thick, add a little more lemon juice or olive oil to thin it out.

 And now you have fresh pesto. You can put it on pasta, chicken, sandwiches, and salads. You can also freeze it in plastic bags and enjoy the fresh-summery pesto in January! Here is a little bit of info about that. Whether you're eating it now or in January- hope you enjoy!

Things I love about Summer... Part 1

Happy Monday! Let me start off by saying, summer is my favorite season! I thrive during the summer.

One of my favorite things about summer is growing veggies and herbs in our yard. Actually, until this year, we've had our "garden" in pots because we've lived in apartments. This year, we're in our house and actually have land to plant things in! Anyway, one of my favorite things to grow is basil. I could eat basil plain! It's sweet, yet kind of peppery. You can throw basil in jarred spaghetti sauce, pasta, scones, etc. But, my favorite thing to do with basil is make pesto!

During the winter months, I crave fresh produce and sauces! So, a few years ago, I decided to freeze pesto and see what happens. Turns out, it's just as delicious as when you first made it.

If you don't have a recipe for pesto or if you've never made it- here and here are good, easy recipes! If you want a healthier pesto- substitute half of the olive oil with lemon juice.

Make a big batch of pesto... and place about 1/2 cup of pesto in individual ziplock freezer bags and roll up so that all of the pesto is in the bottom of the bag. Place in freezer!

Now, in January when you're craving summer- like I do... take one bag out and place in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for about 15 minutes to thaw it. Hot water can sometimes turn it brown. Then, use pesto as you normally would.

My favorite way to eat it: on whole wheat pasta with chicken! You can clip one corner of the plastic bag off and squeeze out. No mess!

Are there any other sauces that you like to freeze?