If you do not have a wood burning stove in your house then of course, fire roasting the Roma tomatoes on a pan in an outdoor charcoal grill over indirect heat will impart a smokier flavor, though the cooking time increases due to most grills having a lower temperature. Indirect heat on the charcoal grill means that you are setting up an outdoor oven, so to speak, where the coals are on one side of the grill, and the roasted product is on the other side. The indoor oven works just fine too.
In addition, if you are not fond of spiciness you can reduce or omit the white pepper and chili powder in the recipe also.
| Ingredients |
|
|
Cooking spray |
| 12 |
Each |
Roma or plum tomatoes, halved |
| 2 |
Tsp |
Garlic salt |
| 2 |
Tsp |
White pepper |
| 2 |
Tbsp |
Balsamic vinegar |
| 2 |
Tsp |
Crystal hot sauce |
| 1 |
Tsp |
Chili powder |
| 2 |
Tsp |
Smoky paprika |
| 2 |
Tbsp |
Fresh basil, chopped |
| 1 |
Tbsp |
Fresh oregano, chopped |
| 1 |
Tbsp |
Fresh thyme, chopped |
| Procedure Steps Note: Pre-heat oven to 400° F. |
| 1. |
Place halved tomatoes on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Season them with the garlic salt and white pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. If roasted in the pan on indirect heat on a charcoal grill double the cooking time. |
| 2. |
In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add 8 of the tomatoes (16 halves) with the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Dice the remaining 4 (8 halves) tomatoes and fold into the sauce. Use the sauce for any preparation calling for Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce, reserve any left over sauce for other uses. |
Tags: Italian · Recipes · Sauces
Another in the Lenten Season Series
One of my favorite dishes, which is so good you forget that it is vegetarian, or at least a meatless main dish. An ingredient we keep coming back to repeatedly, eggplant is so good in so many ways, and this preparation pulls out the subtle nuances with the tomato sauce, Italian breadcrumbs, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese making it our Italian cousins favorite.
The tender sautéed eggplant slices melt in your mouth with every bite of natures bounty and goodness!
| Ingredients |
| 3 |
Lg |
Eggs, beaten |
| ½ |
Cup |
Milk |
| 1 |
Cup |
Parmesan cheese, divided |
| 2 |
Cups |
Italian breadcrumbs |
| 2 |
Lb. |
Eggplant, peeled and cut into ½ – inch slices |
| ¼ |
Cup |
Olive oil, divided |
| 2 |
Cups |
Fire roasted tomato sauce |
| 2 |
Cups |
Mozzarella cheese, shredded |
|
|
Cooking spray |
| Procedure Steps Note: Pre-heat oven to 350° F |
| 1. |
Combine the egg, milk, and ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese and mix well in a shallow pan or bowl. |
| 2. |
Place breadcrumbs in another shallow pan or bowl. Then starting in small batches of five to six eggplant slices, dip them in the egg wash and then dredge into the breadcrumbs. |
| 3. |
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the first batch of breaded eggplant slices to the hot oil and sauté for 5 minutes per side or until golden brown. Transfer to a 9×13 baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. Top each layer of eggplant with some of the tomato sauce, just enough to coat. Then sprinkle some of the Parmesan cheese on top. Wipe the sauté pan with a paper towel and continue with heating another tablespoon of olive oil and breading and sautéing the eggplant in batches until done. Continue to layer the sautéed eggplant slices in the baking dish, spoon on some more tomato sauce over all the eggplant slices and sprinkling Parmesan cheese. |
| 4. |
Bake, uncovered in a pre-heated 350° F oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, and turn the oven heat up to 400° F, then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the eggplant and return to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts, and is golden. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. |
Tags: Entrees · Italian · Recipes · Vegetarian
Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Chocolate and Coconut Granola Bars
This is a great snack recipe and can be made into bars or loose for snacking. The original recipe from the Weight Watchers cookbook Simple and Classic Home Cooking and found on page 28 in the snacks section entitled as “Maple and Peanut Butter Granola”, served loose, however, we have added the pecans, chocolate, and coconut for our version and made them into bars.
We made our batch into bars and yielded 18 nice 1×4 inch sections, the addition of ½ cup of chopped pecans, ½ cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, and 1 cup of shredded coconut increased the yield from the original 11 1/3-cup servings. We also changed the procedures a bit, as the original recipe called for adding the raisins in a separate step after an initial oven time of 30 minutes; we combined them in one-step with the other ingredients.
One of the reasons for changing the recipe ingredients is that it called for 3 cups of oats, we only had two cups in house, and so we added the extra coconut to replace the lost bulk of the oats, and then decided to add a few other ingredients also. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.
| Ingredients |
| 3 |
Tbsp |
Crunchy peanut butter |
| ½ |
Cup |
Maple Syrup |
| 3 |
Tbsp |
Water |
| 1 |
Tsp |
Cinnamon, ground |
| ¼ |
Tsp |
Salt |
| 2 |
Cups |
Regular or quick cooking oats |
| ½ |
Cup |
Golden raisins |
| ½ |
Cup |
Pecans, chopped |
| ½ |
Cup |
Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips |
| 1 |
Cup |
Coconut, shredded flakes |
|
|
Cooking spray |
| Procedure Steps Note: Pre-heat oven to 300° F |
| 1. |
In a small saucepan, combine the crunchy peanut butter, maple syrup, water, cinnamon, and salt with a wire whisk. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 1 minute. |
| 2. |
Meanwhile, in a separate large bowl combine the oats with the raisins, pecans, chocolate chips, and coconut flakes and toss well. Pour the hot maple syrup mixture over the oats mixture and stir well to coat all the ingredients. |
| 3. |
Coat a sheet pan with the cooking spray, spread the mixture into one side of the pan, about ½” deep, and smooth out the top. |
| 4. |
Bake in a 300° F oven for 15 minutes, and then reduce heat to 250° F for another 30 minutes. Then turn off the oven and allow the granola to cool in the oven for an additional 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before cutting into 1×4 inch bars. |
Tags: Recipes · Snacks · Weight Watchers
If you like barley, then you are going to love this tasteful, healthful, and easy one pot meal. This recipe originally in the Better Homes and Gardens, New Dieters Cookbook (Hardcover edition, 1992) has been in our kitchen library for over 15 years. It was one of the first volumes that Monique and I purchased together as a married couple. This recipe became an instant classic for us as it has plenty of fiber with the barley and the combination of onions and carrots brings out the flavor with the chicken stock and chicken thighs.
I have since discovered many iterations and variations on this same dish from foodie blogger’s and recipe sites on the Internet that also include mushrooms, bacon, bell pepper, bay leaf, and some have the addition of chopped tomatoes, green onions, and dry white wine.
This recipe is adapted from the original in that I have increased the amounts of all the ingredients for a larger yield, but also the percentage of onions, carrots, garlic, and chicken stock, bringing the final product to a moister consistency.
Yield: approximately 14 servings
| Ingredients |
| 2 |
Cups |
Onions, diced |
| 2 |
Cups |
Carrot, sliced |
| 6 |
Cloves |
Garlic, minced |
| 3 ½ |
Cups |
Chicken stock |
| 1 ½ |
Cups |
Pearled barley |
| 5 |
Lb. |
Chicken thighs, skin removed |
| 1 ½ |
Tsp |
Poultry seasoning |
| 1 |
Tsp |
Black pepper |
| 1 |
Tsp |
Garlic salt |
| ½ |
Cup |
Fresh parsley, chopped |
| Procedure Steps Note: pre-heat oven to 350° F |
| 1. |
Add onions and carrots to a large braising or roasting pan and allow to sweat over a medium heat. Stir periodically, and then add the garlic and allow to cook with the vegetables for a few minutes. Then add the stock and barley, and then turn up the heat and bring to a boil. |
| 2. |
Meanwhile, while the vegetable/barley/stock mixture is coming to a boil, in a separate bowl season the skinless chicken thighs with the poultry seasoning, black pepper, and garlic salt. Then place the thighs with the bone side down in one layer on top of the vegetable/barley/stock mixture. |
| 3. |
Cover and bake in a pre-heated 350° F oven for 1 hour, or until chicken has an internal temperature of 180°F. Garnish with the fresh chopped parsley before serving. |
The nutritional analysis completed on this recipe from Cook Eat Share lists the following: 440 calories, 7.2g saturated fat, 25.11g total fat, 136mg cholesterol, 234mg sodium, 21.26g carbohydrates, 4.6g fiber, 31.24g protein. However, considering that the analysis includes skin-on chicken thighs, I would bet that the actual analysis is much lower for the calories, fat and cholesterol.
Tags: Entrees · Recipes · Weight Watchers
