Dinner · dinner in 30 minutes

So Many Tomatoes You Don’t Know What To Do?

If you have a garden or someone you know has one, it’s very possible you’ve been inundated with Tomatoes! I’m so blessed to have generous friends who share their bounty with me when my own Cherry Tomatoes quit producing.

I probably ended up with about 20 pounds of tomatoes last week, thanks to kind friends. My sister had told me about Ina Garten’s fabulous Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup and I knew I wanted to use my tomatoes to mix up a batch or two. I’m so glad I did! It’s super yummy!! I made a third batch and froze practically all of it. I did eat a small bowl for lunch and took a Quart to the friend who gave me her beautiful produce.Oh, if you love Cream of Tomato Soup, you need to make this! Just know this soup is in my freezer makes me excited about our fall lunches!

The next thing I made with all those tomatoes was this fresh salsa. I made two jars and it will just sit in the fridge and marinate for a number of hours and then disappear this week as we have chips and salsa and tacos. This recipe has a little honey in it for some sweetness, and a jalapeno for a little kick. Yum!

Here is the way I made the salsa recipe:

Fresh Salsa
4 or 5 red and/or yellow tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 Jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 tsp honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
Fresh black pepper

Mix all ingredients and let marinate in the refrigerator at least an hour.

I love fresh tomatoes on pizza! They can be Cherry Tomatoes or chopped up large tomatoes. This Two-Ingredient Pizza Dough recipe is my current go-to recipe!

One of the most savory tomato recipes I make is this Cheese Ravioli with Tomatoes. It’s a fast meal, but has so much flavor because of the roasted tomatoes. Oh, my goodness, I could eat this every week!

Lastly, there’s Tomato Pie. If you’re shaking your head, you’ve never tried it. I told someone recently that it’s like a grown-up BLT.

Tomato Pie

  • Baked pie crust
  • 1 Red Onion, sliced
  • 1 Tbl. Olive Oil
  • Cooked Bacon Crumbles (2 slices)
  • 2 Sliced Tomatoes
  • 1/3 C Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1/3 C Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 C Light Mayo
  • 1 tsp Basil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Saute’ onions in Olive oil. Place in baked pie shell. Place bacon crumbles on sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix Mayo, cheeses and basil. Spread over tomatoes. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned a hot.

This is so delicious, but don’t take my word for it. Use up those August tomatoes and make a Tomato Pie this week. I hope you’ll give some of the other tomato recipes a try as well! You’ll be in tomato heaven!

Who’s had Tomato Pie? Which of these recipes appeals most to you?

Home decor · refreshment at home

The Easiest Method for Helping Indoor Plants Survive

Real plants in your home can add so much. I’ve gotten to the place where I forage through my yard for the fresh greens to make pretty arrangements, but I’m also adding some live plants.

I went to Lowe’s recently to look at succulents, and while I was there, I found a beautiful little fern that had a little wick at the bottom of its pot. That wick is how the plant gets its water! You place the plant into a reservoir with water in it. As the wick sits in the water, the plant will draw up as much water as it needs! This eliminates the fear of over or under-watering!

This system is perfect for anyone who wants to make having live plants easier. It’s also perfect for caring for your plants while on vacation. You can purchase these plants all ready for you with the wick system in place (my little plant was $5). You can also purchase the wick and add it to all your house plants!

ORIMERC 30 feet 1/6 inch Self Watering Capillary Wick Cord Vacation Plant Sitter DIY Hydroponic Wicking Self-Watering Planter Pot Automatic Water
This is $3.99 on Amazon and has 30 feet of wick! That would take care of a LOT of plants!

I put the mirror behind the plant to double the visual impact of this fern on my bedside table.

Silk ferns and ivy will NEVER find their way back into my house after finding these beauties!

Refresh your greenery in your home with some real greenery…even if you don’t have a green thumb! The wick system takes all the guess work out of growing plants!

Have you ever heard of the Wick Plants? Does this make you think you could have a live plant in your home and not kill it?!

Walk closely to Christ. Give Him your cares and have a lovely weekend.

Dinner · dinner in 30 minutes · salad

Big Mac Salad

These hot August days sometimes turn my appetite away from heavy, hot foods to cold, refreshing salads. But when you need some protein, and you want more than a garden salad, what do you do?

You add ingredients to the salad that have the taste of a Big Mac without the heaviness or the calories of a burger! This Big Mac Salad is basically a deconstructed hamburger without the bun. But it’s hearty and delicious!

Here’s how you make it:

Big Mac Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Ground beef
  • 1 tsp Sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper
  • 8 oz Romaine lettuce (or iceberg if desired)
  • 1 cup Tomatoes (chopped)
  • 3/4 cup Reduced Fat Cheddar cheese (shredded)
  • 1/2 cup Pickles (diced)

DRESSING

  • 1/2 cup Light Mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp Pickles (diced)
  • 2 tsp Mustard
  • 1 tsp White vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
  • 1 1/2 tbsp  sweetener of choice
  1. Brown ground beef, adding salt and pepper. Break beef up into small crumbles as it cooks.
  2. In a large bowl, add lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and pickles. Top with cooked ground beef. Top with dressing just before serving.
    You can also assemble each salad on the plates as I did in the photos here.
  3. For Dressing:
    Mix ingredients in a mason jar. Add warm water or oil to make it a pouring consistency .

This meal is also super fast and can be on the table in less than 30 minutes – probably faster than you could run to the local fast food restaurant and get served! It’s the perfect meal on a hot day, or a day when you want something delicious, but healthier than a hamburger!

What do you eat when it’s hot outside?

cakes · Celebrations · Family life · Parenting

Girl’s Trip #2

Throwback to our first Girl’s trip.

Almost 3 years ago my girls and I took our first girl’s trip. We were celebrating my birthday then. We had so much fun, and it was such a special blessing to connect with one another, that we were excited to plan another one!

Last weekend we took our second trip to celebrate a special 30th birthday, and I’ll let you figure out who’s turning 30! We went to a spot in South Carolina that was absolutely beautiful and perfect for our two night, three day getaway!

The most important part of any time is the people with whom you share it! We get along so well and it’s just so easy to be together. How blessed I am!

The place we stayed was on the 11th hole of the golf course, and also near a beautiful lake! There were stunning views all around us!

We chose to bring food and cook supper, lunch and breakfast. We want to have good food anytime we get together! This time did not disappoint!

To celebrate the birthday, we went out to dinner one evening. The picture below was my Tomato pie. It was amazing! It’s very different from the recipe that I make, and I loved it!

For birthday cake, I brought Chocolate Orange cakes – an Ina Garten recipe that we love. We went to a beautiful gazebo at the Lakeside for our birthday party.

There were so many fun things to do! One day we spent five hours in the swimming pool and had it almost completely to ourselves. What a fun, relaxing day!

No girl’s trip is complete without some shopping, right?! Soooo…

We had intentional times of conversation, talking about important matters in each of our lives. We had times of prayer and times in God’s Word. I’m so thankful we can share those spiritual moments that knit our hearts together.

Whitney did a great job planning the location for our getaway. We are all looking forward to the next event that we can celebrate!

Have you ever had a strictly girls trip? What was the best part?

baking · Cookies · Lightened Up Recipe

Cocoa Fudge Cookies

I love it when simple meets delicious! These fudgy cookies can be mixed right in a saucepan and spooned onto the baking sheet. They end up crispy around the edges and soft in the middle.

I made these last weekend for a girl’s trip I went on, and they were the perfect ending to our poolside lunch! They were also the perfect little snack in the middle of the day! If you love chocolate AND a soft cookie, this is your recipe!

Cocoa Fudge Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour 
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup plain low-fat yogurt 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
  • Cooking spray

Directions

  • Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Step 2 Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, soda, and salt; set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa powder and sugars (mixture will resemble coarse sand). Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine. Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray.
  • Step 3 Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

I failed to mention that these are only 78 calories! Cooking LIght does a great job at providing low cal treats! These Raspberry Strippers are another favorite cookie recipe I found on their site.

Are you a crispy cookie lover or do you prefer a soft cookie?

Happy baking!