Beef with Broccoli, Onions and Potatoes

Carole's Chatter, a really lovely blog, has a round-up each week showcasing one ingredient called Food on Friday. After Friday she showcases a few highlights in a new post. Recently the topic was beef. One recipe that caught my eye was a Beef with Broccoli Stir Fry from Dishing with Leslie. I had to make a few adaptions because we were riced out, having had it for the past few days, and I had some potatoes that needed to be used sooner rather than later. And while I was a little hesitant about using potatoes, they really worked out nicely in the dish. Had some beautiful little yellow cherry tomatoes that needed to be used up so I threw them in, too! Delicious. Had to decrease the heat a little, Grandma was here for dinner. It was enough that she noticed but not too much that her mouth was on fire. Been there, done that, but Grandma is a good sport! This was a keeper. Excellent. We'll try it with next time to soak up all that delicious sauce. And maybe add more chili-garlic sauce, too.

Beef with Broccoli, Onions and Potatoes

Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Source: original recipe by Dishing with Leslie

Printable Recipe

4 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
4 tablespoons water
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb skirt steak, cut in strips, round or sirloin steak, cut against the grain into thin strips
vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 cups broccoli florets
1 cup of cherry tomatoes
2 cups baby potatoes or large potatoes cut into smaller pieces, par-boiled in microwave or on top of the stove
1 onion, cut into wedges
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons seasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic chili sauce

In a large bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 3-4 tablespoons water; whisk until smooth. Add the minced garlic and let sit a few minutes. Add in beef and toss to coat; let sit about 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup water with remaining 2 tablespoons corn starch; whisk  until smooth. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, seasoned rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, and garlic chili sauce. Set aside.

In large non-stick skillet or a wok, heat about a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil over medium/high heat. Add beef and stir until lightly browned; remove from wok and keep warm. Add a little bit more vegetable oil to pan, add potatoes, onion and broccoli, cook until it softens. Return beef to pan. Pour sauce mixture in, add tomatoes, gently stir. Cook for another 5 -10 minutes. Serve.

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Gazpacho

Hot weather calls for cold soup! Not really, I like soup any time, hot or cold. I've had gazpacho before but not like this one. I saw it in this month's Fine Cooking and it looked so good, so creamy, I had to try it.

I didn't notice that the recipe said a pinch or two of cumin, so I added about 2 teaspoons. Fresh cilantro isn't big around here so I added some ground coriander and threw in some ancho chili for good measure. Used more bread than was called for and didn't notice about trimming the crust for croutons. Didn't notice the croutons were burning until it was a tad too late. They were still good. Extra flavor :)

It turns out the family is not so keen on cold soup. My husband thought it tasted like a creamy salad dressing. The kids and their friends gave it an "okay" but I really loved it. Loved. And it's easy enough to make some just for myself.

The flavor was so good. I think my family just assumes that soup should be hot. I'm always in a rush when I serve so you'd think they'd be used to cold soup. Or maybe the fact that this was intentionally cold soup. They'd have been happier with the usual lukewarm. ah well, more for me. 

Today's lunch!

See how creamy it looks? But no cream at all.

Gazpacho

Source: Fine Cooking, July 2012
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/gazpacho.aspx

Printable Recipe

1-3/4 lb. ripe tomatoes, cored and coarsely chopped (about 5 cups)
1/2 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)
1/2 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup packed torn fresh bread, such as a soft baguette, Portuguese roll, or thick white sandwich bread, plus enough for 1/4 cup of 1/2-inch cubes for croutons. I used a soft Italian bread
9 tablespoons good-quality extra-virgin olive oil; plus more for croutons and drizzling
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2 small cloves garlic
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin (more or less to taste)
1-2 teaspoons ground coriander (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon ancho chili
optional garnish - chopped cucumbers, red peppers and onions

Put the tomatoes, bell peppers, bread, olive oil, the vinegar, garlic, about a teaspoon salt, pepper, chili, coriander and cumin in a blender. Pulse until coarsely puréed, then blend until very smooth, about 5-6 minutes or more if needed (it may be a bit frothy). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until very cold, at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, heat about 3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil gets hot, add the bread cubes. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown all over, about  minute or two. Sprinkle with a little salt. Transfer the croutons to paper towels to drain and cool.

Taste the gazpacho just before serving and adjust the seasonings as needed. Serve cold,  drizzle with oil and garnished with the chopped red pepper, cucumber and the croutons.

Make Ahead: The gazpacho can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.

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Tomato Paella

This is a delicious recipe and a nice change from the usual side dish. I didn't grow tomatoes this year but the vine tomatoes from the supermarket have been very good so far. Miss Picky even liked it, but did comment on the flavor, a bit different for her but we couldn't figure out if it was the saffron or the smoked paprika. Either way she decided different was ok and had a second helping.I used the broiler to dry it out a little more and it made a nice crust on the top. Best part according to my kids who fight for the burnt edges. Not a problem actually because I have a tendency to burn food.

I used a strawberry gadget to core the tomatoes. Worked liked a charm on the tomatoes.

Paella With Tomatoes

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

source: NY Times, recipe by Mark Bittman

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/dining/051mrex.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/dining/05mini.html?ref=dining

Printable Recipe

3 cups stock

1/2 cup -1 cup white wine

4 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into thick wedges

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, minced or whizzed in a food processor

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon tomato paste

big pinch saffron threads (optional)

2 teaspoons Spanish pimentón (smoked paprika), or any other paprika you like

2 cups short-grain rice like Spanish Calasparra, Bomba rice or Arborio rice

chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Warm the stock in a saucepan.

Put oil in a 10- or 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, saffron and paprika and cook for another minute more. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is shiny, about another two minutes. Add the wine and stir, let it cook down for another minute or two, then stir in the stock.

Arrange the tomato wedges on top of the rice and drizzle with juices that accumulated in bottom of bowl. Put pan in oven and roast, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Check to see if rice is dry and just tender. If not, return pan to oven for another 5-10 minutes. If rice looks too dry but still is not quite done, add a small amount of stock and roast another few minutes. When rice is ready, you can turn the broiler on for a few minutes to give the tomatoes some color and crisp the rice on top.

Carefully remove pan from oven, it will be extremely hot. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup

This is definitely worth a repost, especially since we're coming into tomato season! Heirloom tomatoes. The different colored tomatoes gives the soup a really deep color and a great taste. You can use any tomatoes you like. Plain supermarket tomatoes are delicious in this soup as well. The roasting really brings out the flavor. I'm lucky that some of the markets around here carries heirlooms. I used a mix of those and vine tomatoes from the supermarket. Would have had home grown eventually but the big kid brought home a mutt from a shelter last year that we all fell in love with and assumed he was part rottweiler and part lab like his papers said. Not a great assumption because he looks part Great Dane with real long legs and a big head. And everything is within reach of his humongous appetite. So much for home grown. There's always next year!


Frankie

Roasted Tomato Soup topped with Greek yogurt instead of cream, croutons and chopped chives. A drizzle of oil and it's good to go.

Roasted Tomato Soup  

adapted by http://theresalwaysthyme.blogspot.com/

Source: Tyler Florence, Food Network http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/roasted-tomato-soup-recipe/index.html Printable Recipe 3 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of any kind you like, heirlooms are great) 6 cloves garlic, peeled 1 large onion, sliced 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 quarts chicken stock 2 bay leaves 4 tablespoons butter plain fat-free Greek yogurt (optional) chopped chives or basil (optional) olive oil (optional) croutons (optional) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 - 60 minutes, or until caramelized. Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot (set aside the roasted vine tomatoes for later). Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped chives. Top with croutons, drizzle with a bit of olive and serve.

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Tomato Vinegar

Salad with Tuna, Feta, Chick Peas and Broccoli Slaw with Tomato Vinaigrette

This was a simple dressing. All I did was use about two tablespoons of the vinegar and one tablespoon of olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. For me that means lots of pepper. The tomato vinegar went really nicely with the feta, tuna (canned, in oil, drained well) and chick peas.  Tomato vinegar is new to me, and I loved it. Was really delicious. The vinegar had such nice flavor, a little goes a long way. If you can find it, give it a try!

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Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Pesto and Tomatoes

The picky kid was hungry and her usual go to is Mac and Cheese. For someone that hates cheese this was always a surprising choice. She would eat it every day if she could. So when she asked for me to make a Pasta Primavera I was fine with that idea. Except for the fact I had no more fresh vegetables. None. Nothing I could throw in except for some left over little tomatoes. The whole wheat spaghetti worked well with this. And there we had a perfect lunch. Pasta. Tomatoes. Pesto. A little cheese for me, none for Picky. And garlic. Garlic overload. I had already chopped up all the garlic and mixed it in the oil when I decided to throw in some pesto. An abundance of garlic. Just don't stand to close. We are pretty garlicky at this point. But boy was that good.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Pesto and Fresh Tomatoes

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Printable Recipe

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti or any pasta, cooked until al dente (about 7-8 minutes) save about 1/8 cup of the pasta cooking water

2 pints grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or any small tomato, sliced in half. Or 3 large tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup pesto (homemade or jarred)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, pesto, and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let it marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Add the hot cooked spaghetti to the tomato mixture, pour in a little of the pasta cooking water and toss well. Sprinkle with the cheese, drizzle a bit more oil, if you like, and serve.

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Italian Wedding Soup with Turkey Meatballs

 Brrr, it's really cold out there. For now. The way the weather has been here it could be in the 50's again next week. Or not. Either way this soup will make you happy! Great flavor, it's a nice dump soup, just dump whatever you want in there. I wanted to add a little whole wheat pasta shapes, but I forgot. Go figure, I finally made a recipe just like it was written, pretty much. If you can't find escarole, use kale or spinach. Add pasta, barley, beans, whatever you like. To me it's that kind of soup. Hearty and filling.

Light Italian Wedding Soup  

with Turkey Meatballs

Source: Martha Stewart, Everyday Food January 2012

http://www.marthastewart.com/313104/light-italian-wedding-soup 

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Printable Recipe

1 pound ground turkey

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced

32 ounces reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice

1 large head escarole, or 2 small , cored, trimmed, and coarsely chopped (you can use kale or spinach, if you can't find escarole)

*Optional -- you can add small pasta, like tubetti, ditalini, shells, whatever you like. Don't overcook the pasta.

In a bowl, combine turkey, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, about a teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, more or less. Using about a tablespoon for each, roll mixture into small meatballs.

In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes (with juice); bring to a simmer. Add meatballs; cook, without stirring, until meatballs float to surface, about 10 minutes. Skim foam. Add as much escarole or kale to pot as will fit.

Continue to simmer, gradually adding remaining escarole. Cook until the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes more or less. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve soup sprinkled with more Parmesan.

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Stuffed Zucchini

Tomatoes and zucchini go so well together. Add some cheese and bread crumbs and you've got one fantastic dish! This was excellent. And so easy. I was looking forward to leftovers, but there weren't any. So I made them again.

Zucchini Boats
Source:  Proud Italian Cook

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Printable Recipe

3 zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise, ends trimmed

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

plain bread crumbs

fontina, provolone or mozzarella (or any good melting cheese), diced

a little white wine (optional)

olive oil for drizzling

basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine the garlic, oil, salt and pepper.

Scoop out the seeds of the zucchini in the center with a spoon. Brush the surface with the oil mixture. Arrange the tomato halves down the center of the zucchini, pour a little bit of white wine in the dish, then sprinkle with the bread crumbs.  Bake for about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and place the cheese in between the tomatoes. Turn broiler on and place them back in the oven. Broil until golden and bubbling. Remove and drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan. Garnish with chopped basil.

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Mexican Rice

Rice or Soup? The recipe said fluff with a fork, mine turned out more like swirl with a spoon. Even after cooking it for over forty minutes. So instead of fluffy it was kind of wet and soupy, but it still tasted great. I'd make it again for sure. Maybe use a little less liquid. Maybe not. We liked it soupy. Usually it's crunchy :)

 
Mexican Rice
Source: About.com
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons oil
1/4 of a medium onion
1 1/2 cups brown rice
3 cloves minced garlic
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
4 tablespoons of chopped parsley (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
wedge of lime

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion. Saute for about 2 minutes until softened. Add dry rice and cook with the onions for about 5 minutes or until rice becomes a golden brown color. Add the garlic to the rice and saute for another minute.

Slowly add the broth and tomatoes. Add the parsley if you're using it. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Let it simmer for 30 minutes or until all the liquid has absorbed. Squeeze some lime juice on, fluff with a fork and serve.

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Tomato Salad

A simple vinaigrette with supermarket tomatoes. 

Tomato-Onion Salad
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

tomatoes, quartered

red onion, sliced

salt and pepper, to taste

fresh parsley, chopped

Basic Dressing:

approximate, it's all to taste!

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil (more or less to taste, we like more vinegar than oil)

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the dressing in a jar and shake to combine. Pour over the vegetables, chill in the fridge for a bit. Serve.

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