Tasty Bruschetta Bread

More love from the Trader Joe's Cookbook!

You will need all of two ingredients:
1 bag of Trader Joe's Pizza Dough
1 jar of Trader Joe's Bruschetta (I like the sun dried tomato, others prefer the olive or the veggie)

Preheat to 425. On a floured surface, roll or man-handle your dough into a rectangle approx 6x15 inches (or whatever will fit on your pizza stone/cookie sheet). Spoon about a 1/2 cup of bruschetta down the middle of the dough. As a crowd pleaser, I usually make half olive, half sun dried tomato. Pull up and pinch the sides of the dough to make a long loaf-like thingie. Pinch well, every single one I've made so far has unpinched itself. Lay it on pizza stone (or cookie sheet) seam-side down. The recipe says to bake for 30-35 minutes, I say start checking in the 20 minute range. Pull it out when the loaf looks browny/done. Let it cool for a few, slice into sections and enjoy.

Haiku:
Like the Winter Frost
This Bread has something hidden
Just below the crust.

::::CHALLENGE::::
I think this recipe would be an EXCELLENT dessert if you swapped the bruschetta for a peanut butter/nutella mix. If someone beats me to the punch on this one, PLEASE POST IT. I have one bag of dough left, and peanut butter, but no nutella.

Kimberly's Entry

For the competition: Orzo Salad Soup
Desert to follow this: Chocolate Come Volcano Cake

Weather in Tacoma: Grey, cloudy and constant rain

Box of Orzo Pasta
Halved Slepdido Tomatoes
**Cut up Hearts of Palm- never used ingredient
Artichoke Hearts quartered
Perlini Mozzarella Cheese
Chopped Garlic
Cut Scallions
Olives- as many & as small as you want
Olive Oil- enough to keep the pasta loose
Cut up Sun Dried Tomatoes
Diagonally cut Carrots
Veggie Broth
Butternut Squash Soup
Last bit of pasta sauce at the bottom of the jar

Cook the Orzo in water, the bit of pasta sauce, and a bit of veggie broth. Have a large pot of Veggie broth, butternut squash soup (like half a cup, or as much as you like) and combine all the ingredients and mix. Serve warm with preferred kind of bread for dipping.

This will feed you, and another person for about four meals. You can add and subtract what ingredients you prefer. Jack added some Parmesan cheese on top of his. You can also save some of the mixture from the broth and have just Orzo pasta, if your weather is hot.

Come Cake Brownie Explosion

Box of Brownie Mix
Shredded Coconut
**Coconut Milk—never used ingredient
Powered Sugar

Add your preferred amount of shredded coconut to the brownie batter, and include a dash of coconut milk as well. Bake brownie batter in small bunt cake molds.

When brownies are done baking, let them cool for 15-20 minutes before removing from the mold.
Once removed sprinkle brownies with the powered sugar, follow with the shredded coconut. Fill the center of each brownie with the coconut milk- wala! You have make Come Cake Brownie Explosion! To make more indulgent pour warmed chocolate sauce over the top. Enjoy!!

Green Lentil Soup

Ahhh... comfort food...
















1 cup green lentils (red or puy lentils may be substituted)
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped

2 teaspoons cumin seeds, crushed + 3/4 teaspoon tumeric
OR
1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder

2 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

(I added to this recipe 1 bay leaf and 1 sprig of fresh rosemary)


Put the lentils in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly for 10 minutes. Drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a pan and saute two-thirds of the chopped onion with the garlic, cumin, tumeric (or curry powder) for 3 minutes, stirring. Add the lentils, stock, and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, until the lentils are soft.

Saute the remaining onion in the remaining oil until golden.

Use a potato masher to lightly mash the lentils and make the soup pulpy. Reheat gently and season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fried onions and cilantro (I added some grated parmesan cheese and chili-pepper flakes)

Super Easy Yummy Food - Orzo Salad

Check it out-

Boil about 8 oz of Orzo till its al dente. Remove from heat, add some frozen peas to the hot water. While the Peas are warming, in a bowl dump 1/3 c. Olive Oil and Vinegar salad dressing, a package of crumbled feta (i used garlic herb), and if you so desire, fresh mint/garbanzo beans/tuna/whatever turns you on.

Drain the Orzo and Peas, dump into the bowl, mix well and serve.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good, soooooooooooo easy.

Keeping on with the Black Bean theme...

I got this recipe for Corn and Black Bean Salsa from a friend, and I'm addicted.

1 can of FiestaCorn, or whatever its called
1 can black beans
Juice of Lime
some chopped cilantro
some chopped green onion

Dump everything in a bowl. I suggest rinsing the black beans of their goopy liquid. Stick in fridge to allow flavors to "marry, rather than simply co-habitate".

You can eat this alone, although I have had it on grilled shrimp tacos, and let me tell you, it's amazing.

My Corn and Black Bean Salsa Haiku:

Black bean corn salsa,
Tiny hills of yellow, black.
Flavors of summer.

Black Bean Chili

Cheap, healthy, delicious, and filling - you'll hardly notice there's no beef in it (though I suppose if that's your thing, you could do it). This recipe actually was listed as a stew, but it tasted flat. I thought the only thing missing was a few tablespoons of chili powder, and wha-la - it became a chili. I was surprised by how good this turned out, and how hearty it is.

15oz can of black beans (don't drain!)
1lb can of mexican style stewed tomatoes (don't drain!)
7 or so B-red potatoes (diced)
2 carrots (sliced)
3 celery stalks (sliced)
1 can of corn (i used mexican corn with chiles and peppers in it)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder (or to taste)
1 small can of tomato paste
(maybe some sour cream, cilantro, and cheese to throw on top - and there's room to tofu this sucker up)

In a large pot, cook the potatoes, celery, and carrots in a bit of olive oil until slightly tender (ten minutes or so). Then throw everything else in, mix, and simmer for about half an hour.

Seasonal goodness

I've been recieving a gift subscription to Bon Appetit for nearly 6 months now, and everytime a new issue arrives in the mail I can't help squealing "food porn!" with glee. There are loads of recipes in there I'm not quite ambitious enough to try, but almost without fail, there are a few recipes in very issue that suit my kitchen and cooking sensibilities just fine.

This month it made my day to find a recipe for Fingerling Potatoes with Oyster Mushrooms - I'd just been to Farmer's market and bought a pound of wee little potatoes, and the asian market down the street is a weekly stop for mushrooms and miso.

This recipe was easy, simple, and I imagine it would go well with just about any slab o' animal and veggies. I rounded out this particular meal with chicken cooked in a soy sauce/balsamic vinegar/garlic/cinnamon/sugar mix (ala Joy of Cooking) and some broccoli cooked in olive oil and garlic.



Fingerling Potatoes with Oyster Mushrooms

(makes 6 servings)

7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 pounds small yellow fingerling potatoes, unpeeled, halved lengthwise (i left the smallest ones intact)
4 tablespoons minced shallots, divided
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 pound large fresh oyster mushrooms, torn into inch-wide strips
1 tablespoon chopped italian parsley

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450F. Brush 2 large rimmed baking sheets with 1 tablespoon olive oil each. Place potatoes on 1 prepared sheet, drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil over and toss to coat. Spread potatoes in single layer, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place potatoes on top rack of oven and roast 10 minutes. Sprinkle half of the garlic and shallots over. Transfer potatoes to bottom rack of oven and continue to roast until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven.

Meanwhile, toss mushrooms on second prepared baking sheet with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and remaining garlic and shallots. Spread in single layer and roast mushrooms on top rack of oven until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add mushrooms to potatoes, stir to combine. Add parsley to potato-mushroom mixture, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Meatless loaf - mmm mmm good and guilt free

This is one of my favorite things to make. I can't get the recipe to copy and paste for some reason, but if you follow the link, make sure to click on the nutritionl info and note how there is no saturated fat, relatively low calorie, no cholesterol, and then compare to an equal serving of meaty meatloaf. Weight and health management has never tasted sooo good.

http://www.kelloggs.com/cgi-bin/brandpages/recipe/recipe.pl?id=1774;skin=morningstar