Tag Archives: tomatoes

Vegetable Explosion Concoction

Posted on by
Reply

There is a point in any growing season when the tomatoes, peppers and onions all seem to be ripe together. If you don’t garden, you can still enjoy this explosion because your grocery store will feature enormous vegetables at incredibly low prices. This was the week here in central Iowa. Peppers of all colors were 88 cents each. Onions and tomatoes were plentiful and all of the food was grown locally by nearby farmers. I loaded my grocery cart, preparing to make this easy concoction.

harvest

veggie concoction

start building flavor

zucchini week

so beautiful

oh the color

veggie explosion

Now, this is not a traditional Italian tomato sauce. This is a quick blend of vegetables that I wash, dice and then stew together to form a “starter brew.” I put containers of my veggie brew into the freezer so that when the prices of peppers and tomatoes go really high again, I won’t panic.

How do I use the brew?

That’s the fun part.
I pour it over pork chops, pork loin roasts, chicken or beef roasts.
It works in the slow cooker or in a roasting pan to give meats flavor and extra vegetable power.
I use it as a soup starter either as it is or blended to create a vegetable base.

For an hour or so of hard core chopping time, I got six containers of my meal starter. Pretty good trade off.

Of course, you can just chop the veggies and freeze them in baggies when the prices are so ripe. But this takes them to another level by blending so many together.
Note on spices: I don’t use many so that I can push the brew in any direction later – making an Italian, Mexican or even Indian dish by adding specific spices when I’m actually cooking a meal.

There is no one way to make this. If you want to use lots of really hot peppers, add them. The list below is just what I did this week. It varies every time I make it.

Ingredients
I TBS olive oil
2 large onions, diced
1 whole garlic, with the cloves minced
15 or so tomatoes – I used two varieties
5 stalks celery, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 large zucchini, chopped (This IS zucchini week, after all.)
1 green pepper, diced
3 red peppers, diced
2 yellow peppers, diced
1 TBS sea salt

Directions
In a large soup pot, heat the oil and sauté the onions and garlic for a minute or two.
Add the rest of the vegetables and the salt and any other spices you like.
Let the mixture cook on a medium-low setting for 10 – 15 minutes. If this seems dry, turn the heat down and smash the tomatoes.
When the vegetables have wilted and are getting saucy, take them off the heat to cool.

At this point you may want to put some in the blender or just cool the entire works. I added ice cubes to speed the cooling process since there was no water added to the vegetables as they cooked.

Scoop into freezer containers, label and freeze.
Note on containers: for years I used Tupperware, but the tomato sauce always stained the containers. Now I just save my yogurt and cottage cheese containers and use these.

If you’re planning to use one of the frozen veggie brews on a roast or other item, take it out of the freezer the day before you need it and let it thaw in the fridge.

Follow Me on Pinterest

No Muss, No Fuss Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Posted on by
2

beef roast


Perfect for a work day, this pot roast will take care of itself all say and then deliver moist, flavorful meat when you finally drag yourself home.

fork tender


big guns add lots of flavor

I got the idea for this from Monique who was cutting my hair a few weeks ago. Of course, I added a few things to make it mine, but I love hearing about people’s adventures with food.

soup mix and tomatoes on the bottom

Note: many slow cooker recipes have us adding the meat and vegetables at the same time. Personally, I think this is too long to cook potatoes and other vegetables. So for this recipe, just cook the meat.

tomatoes and chillies on top of roast


Ingredients
2 ½ – 3 pound beef rump roast – or whatever roast you have on hand.
Garlic salt and pepper
1 packet French Onion Soup Mix
1 large can (26 oz) diced tomatoes
1 small can (15 oz) green chilies and tomatoes chopped
2 bay leaves

juicy


Directions

Empty the entire content of the large can of tomatoes into the bottom of the slow cooker.
• Sprinkle the soup mixture over the tomatoes and mix to blend.
• Rub the roast with garlic salt and pepper.
• Place the roast over the tomatoes in your slow cooker.
• Add bay leaves.
• Pour chilies and tomatoes on top of roast. Just let them sit on the roast.
• Cover and set slow cooker to low.
• Cook for 10 – 11 hours.

When you’re ready to eat, pop a few potatoes into the microwave and steam a green vegetable and you’ll be ready in minutes. You won’t need gravy with this roast. Spoon the tomatoes over the sliced roast beef to keep it moist and enjoy the colors and flavors.

Follow Me on Pinterest

Perch with Oranges and Tomatoes

Posted on by
1

perch with oranges and tomatoes

brown fish and move to a plate


Last Friday I offered up a traditional Lenten Tuna Rice Hot Dish, so I thought I should bring us back to the 21st century with an unusual offering this Friday. This recipe fits the bill, blending ginger, garlic, tomatoes and oranges with a light fish. In this case I had perch, so that’s what I used. But it came in many pieces, so it didn’t make as pretty a picture as if you had one handsome fish on the plate.

stir fry garlic, ginger tomatoes and oranges

Use whatever fish you like for this tangy recipe. Tilapia, cod, shrimp or halibut would all work well. The tomatoes could be cherry, Roma or tomatoes strip mined in Texas. But do use tomatoes. The oranges could be regular size or the miniature “cuties.” This is a flexible recipe.

add the fish back to the pan


The inspiration came from a recipe in Women’s Day Magazine’s November 1, 2011 issue. They recommend the fish be served with couscous, which was a nice suggestion, but I used sweet potato fries. (Frozen fries that I baked.) I’m not really crazy about fish, but I really love sweet potato fries and it made the meal even more colorful. (It’s lent, so I’m being really honest!)

Ingredients

1 TBS olive oil -divided
1 – 1 ½ pounds fish fillets
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large orange or two small Clementine’s – peeled and sectioned
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 tomato, cut into pieces

Directions
• Use 1 tsp oil and brown fish a minute or two on each side, depending on the thickness of the fish, until done.
• Salt and pepper the fish while it’s browning.
• Transfer the fish to a plate to rest. (That was a traumatic oil bath.)
• Add the remaining oil to the frying pan and brown the garlic and ginger… about a minute.
• Add the tomatoes and cook another three minutes. (I got impatient and didn’t cook mine as long.)
• Finally, toss in the oranges and gently mix to heat them.
• Put the fish back into the pan for a minute to rewarm it.
• Serve with rice, couscous, barley, potatoes or sweet potato fries.

The tomatoes will create a bit of a sauce; the oranges will add sweetness. Ginger and garlic punch up the flavors. This is a 21st century fish recipe you can play with and make your own.

Follow Me on Pinterest