Just taking a little break...

Hey loyal blog followers of ours! :)

We need to take a little break from blogging for the next few weeks - sorry to disappoint you. Megan is getting married on September 21st (and Katie is in the wedding) and Katie is closing on her first home with her husband a week from tomorrow!

Since we are obviously quite busy with just a few minor things in our lives, we just don't have a ton of extra time in the kitchen to be blogging!

Don't worry though - we will be back at the end of September/early October with some AWESOME new recipes for you to check out!

XOXO Megan & Katie

BLT Sandwiches

A summer staple sandwich is the good ole BLT!  At the end of the season when tomatoes are at their prime is a perfect time to make BLTs for dinner.  This is a basic recipe, but quite delicious nonetheless.  Enjoy!

Servings:  2

Size:  1 BLT sandwich

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List:

4 slices of bread, whole wheat or 12 grain

2 Tbsp. light butter

1 large tomato

6 large lettuce leaves

4 slices of bacon

Directions:

Cook the bacon according to the package directions.  Toast the bread and then lightly butter each slice.  Wash and tear the lettuce leaves into generous size leaves.  Wash and slice the tomato into hearty slices.  Once the bacon is done cooking, assemble each sandwich by layering lettuce, tomato and topping with bacon. 

Tip:

Although regular bacon is delicious, it isn’t as healthy as turkey bacon! Substitute turkey bacon to cut back on points, but without completely sacrificing taste and flavor!

XOXO Megan

Red Sauce

Here is a yummy and simple red sauce that you can use for anything! Pizza, pasta, dip for your polenta fries!

Servings: 4
Serving Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 2pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 4 - Very Good

Ingredients:
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tomato fresh from the garden, diced
4 cloves of garlic, cut small
1 T. olive oil
1 T. dried basil
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. dried rosemary
1 T. brown sugar
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat oil in a saute pan and add onions and garlic.  Saute about 4 minutes. Grind dried spices and sugar in a pistol and mortar until combined. Add tomatoes to saute pan, along with spices, bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat and loosely cover and saute for 30 minutes. Add the fresh basil about 5 minutes before you are done.  Enjoy!

Tip:
Using the pistol and mortar will help to bring out the flavor of the dried spices.  If you don't have one, feel free to just sprinkle the spices on top when you add the tomatoes to the pay.  Also, if you like your red sauce creamy, get out your immersion blender and give her a few pulses!

XOXO Katie

Bruschetta + Cherry Tomatoe Tapenade

This recipe is so delicious.  This is a recipe my mom found, here is the original recipe.  It is a fun take on the traditional bruschetta by turning the normal mixture into a tapenade instead.  Yum-o!

Servings: 8

Size:  2 slices of bread/bruschetta

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes (to grill the bread)

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

2 cups cherry tomatoes
½ cup kalamata olives, pitted
6 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup pine nuts
Fresh ground pepper
Kosher salt
8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn
½ cup olive oil
2 oz. block Parmesan cheese, cubed
1 French baguette

Directions:

Slice the baguette into 1 inch slices.  Brush olive oil onto each slice and lightly sprinkle with salt.  In a grill pan over medium-high heat, grill the bread slices until they have grill marks and are lightly browned.  In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, olives, green onions, pine nuts, a dash of salt and pepper, basil, olive oil and Parmesan cheese cubes.  Lightly pulse the food processor until all ingredients are chopped and well combined.  Scoop the tapenade into a medium bowl for serving purposes.  Serve each bread slice with a generous helping of tomato tapenade and enjoy!

Tip:

Be careful not to over-pulse in the food processor!  It can easily happen, but your tapenade should resemble more of a chunky texture.

XOXO Megan

Pico de gallo + homemade refried beans

Welcome to TOMATO week!  Each day this week we will posting a recipe posting the summer fav - TOMATOES!

And to kick things off, what is more 'tomato-y' than fresh salsa! I had a bunch of fresh ingredients on hand to whip up this easy and flavorful salsa.  And the best part is all you need is a knife and cutting board to pull this together.  I have also been wanted to try to make home made re-fried beans and O.M.G. were those delish!  I will never eat canned again.  Anywoo - I whipped up some tacos with corn tortilla + re-fried beans + fresh salsa, enjoy!

Servings: 3 + leftover salsa
Serving size: 2 corn tortillas + 1/2 c. re-fried beans + salsa
Points Plus: 7pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 7-10 minutes
Rating: 5 - Excellent

Ingredients:
Salsa
3 large tomatoes, chopped small
1/2 red onion, chopped small
1 jalapeno, remove seeds and chop small
3 small red peppers, chopped
2 t. cumin
Salt + pepper to taste

Re-Fried Beans
1 T. olive oil
1 15 oz. can pinto beans
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 t. chili powder
2/3 c. chicken stock
Salt + pepper to taste

For tacos you will also need 6 corn tortillas

Directions:
To make salsa, combine all ingredients, stir and put in fridge!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  When oven is preheated, add tortillas to warm, about 3 minutes. To make beans - heat olive oil in a sauce pan or skillet. Add chopped onion and saute about 3 minutes. Add chili powder and stir, cook about 1 minute longer.  Rinse beans and add them to the pot.  Add chicken stock and bring to a boil until almost all liquid is gone, about 5 minutes.  At this point taste the beans, they may or may not need salt and pepper! Remove pot from heat and squash beans with the back of a wooden spoon until they are to the constancy that you desire!

To assemble - put 2 tortillas on a plate and top each with 1/4 cup re-fried beans and as much salsa as you want (because this salsa is FREE!!).  These tacos have so much flavor, they are delish!

Tip:
If you like re-fried beans that are totally smooth (like the canned type), try putting them into your food processor and give them a few pulses.  Also, add some iceberg lettuce to the top of these tacos for some additional crunch!

XOXO - Katie

The Perfect Poached Egg

Dinner tonight (pictured below) did not fully turn out. In an effort to utilize some CSA Lacinato Kale I sauteed some up with chopped onions, garlic powder, salt and pepper. My plan was to top it with the perfect poached egg, and it seemed wonderful in my head, but I must admit, I think kale is gross.  I haven't been able to figure out a way to cook it without using a ton of fat, so I suppose I wont be making it again any time soon!  (meanwhile my husband is making his second dinner of NACHOS in the kitchen, boooooo I want nachos!!!)  Anyways, lucky for me the perfect poached egg turned out amazing.  Follow these simple instructions below.

Serving: 1
Serving Size: 1 poached egg
Points plus: 2pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 2:30-3 minutes
Rating: 5 - Excellent

Ingredients:
1 raw egg
1 t. vinegar

Directions:
Fill a pan with water and bring to a low boil.  Add vinegar and reduce heat so water is just slightly boiling. Crack egg into a small bowl.  Using a spoon, create a clockwise tornado in the pan with the water.  When you have your tornado going drop the egg in FAST to the outside of the pan.  The tornado will help to have the egg sort of catch itself and stay together.  Let the egg cook for 2:30-3 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon.  Tip with a tad of salt and a tad of pepper!

Tip:
Even if you want to, do not try and poach more than one egg at a time.  They will not turn out right.  But if you follow the instructions above they will turn out perfect every time!

XOXO - Katie

Beer Pretzel Dip

This is an easy appetizer dip you can throw together and serve with pretzels.  It's not too bad for you since you use light beer and reduced fat cheeses, but like anything... make sure you eat this in moderation!!

Servings:  Recipe will make 2 1/2 cups or about 13 servings
Serving Size: 3 Tbsp.
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredients:
2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese, 1/3 less fat
1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1/4 to 1/2 cup light beer
1 cup. shredded sharp cheddar, reduced-fat

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, Ranch dressing mix and light beer with a mixer.  Fold in the shredded cheddar cheese, stirring until well mixed.  Serve with pretzels and enjoy!!

XOXO Megan