My recipes are listed below with short directions, just click the "read more" link to see the recipes as well as some small techniques I learned along this mighty journey that may make yours easier. Enjoy!
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| Pasta and tomato finished product |
Couscous Stuffed Tomato Recipe
- 4 tomatoes
- 1/2 - 1 cup uncooked couscous
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 tbsp. virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. each of dried oregano, parsley, basil, and pepper
- 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place mushrooms into small pan, and saute in olive oil. While mushrooms saute, core out tomatoes, leaving tomato skin to hold stuffing. Place tomato core into the mushrooms. Add spices. Cook couscous according to directions, then stir in the mushroom mixture. Once mixed, spoon couscous mixture into the tomato shells. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 20 - 25 minutes.
I started by sauteing the 1/2 cup mushrooms in about a tablespoon of virgin olive oil, and then commenced coring out the tomatoes.
Begins the kanipshin.
Being the mastermind that I often think I am, I decided to core out tomatoes much smaller than suggested by nearly any sane chef. My modestly sized tomatoes proved a daunting task for coring, squirting everywhere while I continued to saute the pour mushroom slices, turning the heat down repeatedly to prevent them from overcooking. If I were to repeat the coring again, here are some things I'd redo.
Coring Recommendations
1.) Bigger tomatoes - the small ones may have been what were there, but if you can substitute out for a larger version, do it, your life will be much easier. If you can't substitute, the following steps will help.
2.) Core a hole the size of a quarter AT LEAST - when I first started, I only had a hole big enough to take off the top stem, and that was no where big enough to fit a spoon in the scoop out the insides.
3.) Scoop like it's ice cream - sounds crazy, but what you want to do is take the spoon and swivel it around the center of the tomato like you are scraping the inside of an ice cream carton. And don't be afraid to dig - you want to remove as much pulp as possible for more filling.
After the tomatoes were finally cored, I discovered that a cupcake pan was the best size and shape to hold the tomatoes once they were fully stuffed. The stuffing consisted of all the listed seasonings and couscous mixed together then place inside.
Once the tomatoes were safe in the 350 degree preheated oven, I moved on to the pasta and cheese sauce.
Ham, Broccoli and Cheese Dijon Pasta Recipe
- 1 box, cooked pasta
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 bag frozen broccoli
- 1 1/2 cups cheese (mozzarella and provolone work well)
- 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 - 2 cups chopped ham
Directions: Boil water, then place pasta into the pan. Once pasta is halfway cooked, pour frozen broccoli into pan with pasta. While pasta and broccoli cook, put flour into a saucepan and slowly whisk the milk into the flour over medium heat. Once mixture has thickened, remove from heat and add cheese, Dijon, seasonings and ham. Strain pasta and broccoli, then pour cheese mixture on top.
To begin, I started the water to boil, then poured the flour and milk into a pan.
Kanipshin number 2.
Stirring the mixture, I moved on to finding the broccoli and other ingredients, handing the spoon off to my boyfriend, with the pan on high heat.
Not the best idea.
As he furiously whisked the mix, it started to scald, the smell starting to fill the kitchen. Turning to me with a frantic look, pan in hand still stirring quickly, he said brokenly, "It's burning."
Pouring the flour milk scald mixture into a bowl, we placed the burnt pan into the sink. One taste of the creamy mixture and a disgusted look from my boyfriend as the burnt flavor coated our tongues, it was into the trash and out with another batch.
Secrets to Not Burning the Gooey Milk-Flour
1.) Medium heat. It takes longer, but it also means you can stir at a speed that doesn't make your arm ache, and it keeps it thickening at a comfortable pace.
2.) Big whisk or spoon - we started with just a medium sized fork, but the second batch cooked much smoother with a larger spoon.
3.) Pour the milk in gradually - when preparing the mix, it worked best to whisk in about a 1/2 cup of milk into the flour, then slowly stir in the remaining 1 and 1/2 cups.
After the flour-milk mix was ready, I put in the cheese and spices, then added double the Dijon recommended - I'm a flavorful loving girl - then mixed it and let it set.
While the pasta was cooking, I then did a technique I have never tried before. I dumped my entire bag of frozen broccoli into the boiling water. Watching it carefully, I was shocked at how nicely it cooked with the pasta.
Once the pasta and broccoli was done, I mixed the ham chunks and cheese sauce together and VOILA - a delicious meal my boyfriend is begging for seconds.
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| Finished delicious dessert |
Banana Pudding Fruit Pie
- 1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust
- 1 box banana pudding mix
- 2 cups milk
- 1 bag of preferred frozen fruit
- 1 can whipped cream
Directions: Cook pudding according to pudding directions, pour frozen fruit into bottom of pie crust, pour pudding over the top of fruit. Place pie in the fridge - allow to gel. Once has firmed some, place whipped cream on top.
As for the dessert, I took out a pre-made graham cracker crust and mixed up the banana pudding. I then poured some frozen fruit into the bottom of the crust, and dumped the pudding mix on top still hot. Putting it into the fridge, my boyfriend and I waited patiently for the pie to gel.
Upon it firming up, we then took canned whipped cream - a disappointing but frugal choice, since I like to show off with my fresh whipped cream, but didn't feel like forking out $7 at our local grocery just to get the heavy cream itself - and squirted it on top. Or more mounded it. Whipped cream is no joke.
The result was a delicious and cheap dessert that was perfect for this mild summer night. My rating for this meal? Probably a 3.5 out of 5. While all the items were fairly good, they did not compliment each other as well as I would hope, but I can't complain about the leftovers and the taste of each individual item.
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