Tomato Tarts For Two!

So, you think I can't cook for just the two of us? I didn't either...

Then I tried one of my most favorite recipes and downsized it!

When I put my mind to it….I can do a lot of things! 

Not everything, mind you…but the important stuff I can do! 

Hey…I can grow my own basil!

 Isn't that an accomplishment with our hot summers? 

I think it is!

This is my first summer that I haven't grown green beans, squash, tomatoes, etc…but I just could not leave my basil out! ( or my thyme)
And I'm so thankful that I didn't! 

Who knew I'd be craving tomato pie in September!

Well, I was and I made it! But I finally made it in a version for just the two of us! It was so wonderful and so very easy! I've been making it a lot lately!
 Yes, I am confessing that fact! I love it and more importantly, Jim loves it!

Thought you'd like to see it in stages so I showed you the beginning….with the crust that I cut out like a cookie cutter with my individual tart pans. Gosh I love my tart pans! Big or small..they sure do measure up to everything I ever thought they would be!

Ok…I know they are just tart pans but the fact that they make better crusts than pie pans do and they have removable bottoms…HELLO! You. Make. Me. Happy!

It really is so very simple once you learn to cook for two! You simply cut the recipe in half or in fourths! Ok…that may not be that simple every time…but it certainly is for Tomato Pie or Tomato Tarts for two! And if doesn't work…then by all means send it back with your college age children! Miller literally brings his Yeti back and forth every time he comes home from Auburn! With clean containers that I've sent with him from the weeks before! Yes…he really washes them! Gosh, I'd fill that Yeti with anything he wants these days! Just to hold on to that precious baby boy…oh wait…he's 20! He's practically grown…I'm not quite sure I can part with my last one…what happens then? And why weren't Yeti's around with my oldest son, Mitch? He would've loved that!

Well, I've definitely digressed…so sorry! Here is the recipe and I hope you absolutely love it!

Don't laugh at my sorry attempt at pictures…I'm really trying! I promise! 

Just let me know that you either tried this recipe for two or made it for an entire dinner party in a normal size pie crust!

Bon Appetit!

Tomato Tarts For Two

Ingredients:

Pastry for two individual tart pans. I use a pillsbury all ready pie crust much to my mother's dismay. You can make a homemade pie crust if you want to! 

1 Tablespoon mayo, divided  ( I use light )

1/4 small onion, minced

2/3 C grated swiss cheese, divided

2/3 C grated mozzarella cheese, divided

pepper to taste

1-2 Tablespoons fresh basil

2-3 tomatoes peeled and sliced, saving those parts you don't think you need!

kosher salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil, divided

Parmesan Cheese

*once the tart pans are prepared with the pie crust top each with a half Tablespoon mayo and then sprinkle the onions evenly on both. Add the two cheeses and top with the basil and then bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted. Add the tomatoes filling in the edges with those pieces of tomatoes that didn't look so pretty after you finished slicing them! No one will see them! And the tomatoes make this tart! Hence, the name! Top with a dash of kosher salt and the olive oil. Bake at 350 for at least 30 minutes. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 more minutes. ( I goofed and put the basil on the top but it is more attractive to put it under the tomatoes in my opinion!)

I hope you love this as much as I do! 

Skillet Spaghetti And A Killer Salad!

photo from Good Dinner Mom

Have you noticed that I really am trying to not post about food too much?

 I didn't think so! Oh well! At the risk of all of you thinking that all I do is think about food and love to cook and especially love to cook for my family….you would be 100% correct! 

There is nothing that I love more than to entertain family and friends!

 I truly am the most relaxed when I'm cooking or creating a fun meal! 

When we took most of our kids to Highlands, N.C. this past Fourth of July we cooked in a few times and ate out at great restaurants the rest of the time. 

One of the meals that I made was a huge hit! I've been dying to share it with you!

photo from A Good Dinner Mom

I've actually made this Skillet Spaghetti twice since we've been back. It's always a huge hit and it's an easy dish for me to have leftovers that I can send back with my youngest son for him to heat up during the week at Auburn University. I've had several moms of his friends ask for it because they loved it so much! I hope you will give it a try!

Just to make life easier since we were traveling to North Carolina I went ahead and cooked the meat and added the seasonings, froze it and then took it with us. 

The night that I made it I wanted to sing the Hallelujah Chorus when it was time to cook! 

Wow…that made a huge difference! 

All I had to do was add the sauce ingredients, the noodles and the cheeses! 

We had a yummy loaf of French bread with garlic butter and a yummy salad to top it off! 

You truly do have to have a LARGE skillet to make this! 

I took mine with me to Highlands!

At the end, you simply brown the cheese under the broiler! The kids were being lured in one by one by the incredible smell of this dish cooking! I promise you it is a crowd pleaser!

All you need is a salad! This is the only picture of my favorite salad that I could find. 

We've made it for years and years for Supper Club, Christmas Parties and family get togethers. 

Today I had a new reader ask about another recipe I had posted a few years ago and what salad to put with it. This is the first thing that came to my mind! I will share the recipes for the spaghetti and the salad and I truly do want you to try them both if you think your family and friends would enjoy it! It's so worth the effort!

Let me know your thoughts!

Skillet Spaghetti

1-1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef

1/2 pound Italian Sausage

3 cloves minced garlic

pinch of red pepper flakes

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

12 ozs. thin spaghetti broken into thirds

2 cans each ( 15 ounces each) crushed tomatoes

1 can ( 15 ounces) tomato sauce

3 Cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 ounces cream cheese, softened and cubed

1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 Cup parmesan cheese

In a large non stick, oven proof skillet brown the meats together with the garlic and the red pepper flakes. Drain well and then add the basil, thyme, oregano, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, salt and pepper as well as the broken up spaghetti. The pan will be very full! Combine well and carefully! Let simmer while stirring very carefully, lifting up the noodles as you go to prevent sticking. Let simmer for 12-15 minutes covered. Don't worry if it seems thin…the sauce will thicken in the oven. Add the cubed cream cheese until it has melted and combined with the pasta. Sprinkle the other cheeses on top and put under the broiler until cheese is bubbly, melted and slightly browned! Don't burn your hands! Several of us have done this as you don't remember that the skillet has been in the oven as well as on the cooktop!

The Best Salad Ever!

(Hearts of Palm Salad)

2 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn up

2 cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

10-12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/3 C blue cheese crumbles

1 pint grape tomatoes, washed and halved

Dressing

1/4 small onion, chopped

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 Cup canola oil

mix all ingredients except oil in a blender. 

Slowly add the oil in stages and blend well until slightly thickened.

ENJOY!

OK…I Cannot Tell A Lie!

 No…I didn't cut down a Cherry tree….however…my other choice between an Oreo Pie was a cherry dessert! 

But..this mama knows that her kids ( and husband ) love anything chocolate…and especially anything Oreo! 

I must admit I was a bit skeptical when I first saw this post on today's Mississippi Kitchen's blog. But…lead me to anything oreo and I promise I will give it a try! 

And boy….am I glad I did! Go figure…this might have been the most wonderfully decadent pie I've ever tasted! And it was easy to boot! She served her's with a yummy raspberry sauce but I chose vanilla ice cream simply because I had it.

If you have Oreo fans in your life…or chocolate fans…please give this a try! And, it's a buttermilk pie as well! I was SOOOO skeptical! And I never post recipes unless I give them an A plus rating! This gets an extra A plus in my "cook" book! 

 Oreo Buttermilk Pie

1 pillsbury pie crust or homemade pie crust for a 9" pie

1 stick softened butter

2 Cups sugar

3 eggs

1 Cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 Cup all purpose flour

15 oreos, crushed

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare pie crust accordingly

Cream the butter and the sugar together in a mixer on medium to medium high speed for 3-4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time beating until yellow is gone. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour and mix until well blended. Stir in the crushed oreos and pour into prepared pie crust. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until middle is set and not too runny. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Can't wait to hear what you think about this pie! 
Please let me know!

My Mother In Law Makes The Best Oven BBQ Chicken!

I don't know if it was the fact that it was Labor Day or if I was just feeling a bit nostalgic since none of our kids were around for this long weekend. Even though Miller showed up for a bit and we got together for my niece's 16th birthday…it still made for a long weekend! One that I know I was suppose to enjoy…and I tried! I gave it my best effort! I floated for two days on a raft and was taken out to dinner and had nothing to do. Should sound wonderful…I'm fully aware! And parts of it were! But….I will always miss my babies no matter what age they are or where they live! So on Sunday after packing up Miller's cooler and watching him drive away with our ribs and barbecue meat, potato salad and baked beans that we'd bought earlier that day and sacrificed to the Yetti... I was craving more barbecue! I remembered my sweet mother in law's yummy oven barbecue chicken! 

It's truly a meal my kids request for their birthdays at her house! 

I thought I'd give it a try! Hope you will as well!

 It's not hard at all….after running the chicken breasts through the seasoned four and browning it a bit of olive oil all you do is add the sliced onions and sauté them until tender and place them on top of the chicken.

 Pour the sauce over all of this and pop it in the oven…at this point I stuck it in the refrigerator and did not bake it until tonight. It was so nice to have this to come home to after a long day at the shop. Easy….made the house smell yummy and now and I don't have to cook tomorrow night either! 

This makes fabulous leftovers and I might even freeze some for Miller to take back to school next weekend. Might as well! That Yetti is always waiting for any and all leftovers!

 All I served this with was Spicy Yellow Rice by Mahatma but you can do plain yellow or white rice or brown if you prefer it. It's yummy no matter what! Oh…and we had green beans!

Oven Barbecue Chicken

6-7 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cleaned

1 C flour mixed with salt and pepper to taste

1/4 C or a little more Olive Oil divided as needed

1 medium onion sliced

2 T butter

1 1/2 C catsup

1 C water

3 T worchestershire sauce

2 T lemon juice

3 T brown sugar 

2-3 T white vinegar

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dry mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

dash garlic powder

 Heat 1/8 C olive oil in a large pan. Mix the flour with the salt and pepper….dip chicken in the flour mixture and brown in the olive oil adding more as needed. Place in a greased baking dish. Saute the sliced onions in the same pan…add the 2 T butter as needed. Place onions on top of the chicken. Mix the rest of the ingredients in the same pan and bring to a low boil. Pour the sauce over the chicken and cover tightly with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Serve over rice. This is great made the night before and it makes it so much easier! I will admit that I combined my recipe with my mother in law's just to try it out and I loved it! 

Hope you will too!

Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Labor Day weekend and have hit the ground running as we have to get ready for Fall! 

I just love Fall and all that it brings with it!

Much love to you all…I sure have missed this blog! Glad for football again!