Chopped Mexican Chicken Salad

Nov 07 2013

103

Chopped Mexican Chicken Salad is a quick and healthy recipe that uses fresh ingredients. You can serve it as a main or side dish.

Mexican Chicken Salad

As some of you know I’m not a huge salad eater and that is pretty much a sin coming from a gardener. To get to me eat more salads, I have found that if I make it more Mexican inspired it becomes a instant hit. I gave this salad a Mexican taste with ingredients and spices and I loved it so much we had it for dinner twice in 1 week!

Chicken Salad Ingredients:

You will need:

skinless, boneless chicken breasts
corn
romaine lettuce
arugula
queso fresco
cherry tomatoes
scallions
cilantro
lime
radishes

Fresh lettuce from the garden, can’t beat the taste!

Arugula, Cilantro, Scallions, Radishes, Tomatoes and Corn!

This chicken was some of the yummiest chicken I ever tasted.

Minutes later throw all your vegetables and herbs in a bowl..

Add your cut up chicken..

Sprinkle your olive oil dressing on top..

Mix up and you have one beautiful and fresh salad!

Serve and sprinkle some Queso Fresco on top.

And enjoy!

Pin for later:

Mexican Chicken Salad

Chopped Mexican Chicken Salad is a quick and healthy recipe that uses fresh ingredients. You can serve it as a main or side dish.

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken salad recipe, mexican chicken salad, mexican salad recipe with chicken

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 17 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Ear of Corn
1 Head Romaine Lettuce
2 Ounces Arugula
2 Ounces Queso Fresco
4 Ounces Cherry Tomatoes
2 Scallions
1 Bunch Cilantro
1 Lime
4 Radishes

Instructions

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season it all over with salt and pepper.In a large pan, heat some olive oil on medium until hot. Add the chicken and cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
While the chicken cooks and cools, wash and dry the fresh produce. Cut the radishes into wedges. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Thinly slice the scallions. Roughly chop the cilantro. Peel off the husks and remove the silks from the corn. Using a knife in a sawing motion, cut the kernels off the cob. Chop the romaine lettuce into small, bite-sized pieces.
In a small bowl, combine the juice of the whole lime and about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.Whisk until blended and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Chop the cooled chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add the chopped chicken to a large bowl along with the radishes, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, corn, romaine lettuce, and arugula. Add some of the dressing (you may not need all of it) and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Divide the salad between 2 bowls. Crumble half the queso fresco over the top of each. Garnish with the scallions. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Blue Apron

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Nov 03 2013

124

This Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe is a family favorite! I love serving it as comfort food on a cold night! This soup is made with broccoli, carrots and Velveeta cheese!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Do you know how much I love this Creamy Cheese Broccoli Soup? I made it for dinner on Friday. Then I made it again on Sunday. And now I’m thinking when should I have it again.

Broccoli Cheese Soup Ingredients:

You will need:

butter
broccoli (frozen or fresh)
carrots
corn
chicken broth
Velveeta cheese
milk
heavy creamy
garlic powder
dried mustard
cornstarch
water

This soup has all the good stuff in it. There’s cheese and milk to make it creamy, then there’s broccoli, carrots and corn to make it a vegetable dream. The soup is incredibly creamy and if you serve it with a piece of bread, you have a perfect dinner.

Velveeta Broccoli Cheese Soup

Velveeta cheese in my opinion makes the most creamiest soups, so whenver I can cut up a loaf of Velveeta, I’m in! You will need a 8 ounce block of cheese for this recipe, to cut up and add to the soup!

This soup only takes 20 minutes to make, with a few minutes to prepare, making it a deliciou 30 minute and under dinner recipe!

With every spoonful you get a good serving of vegetables covered in creamy cheese sauce.

I hope you enjoy this Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup!

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

This Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe is a family favorite! I love serving it as comfort food on a cold night! This soup is made with broccoli, carrots and Velveeta cheese!

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword broccoli cheese soup, broccoli soup

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
4 cups frozen or fresh broccoli florets
1 cup carrots - peeled and chopped
1 cup frozen corn
3 cups chicken broth
8 ounces Velveeta cheese - cubed
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup water

Instructions

Melt butter. Add in broccoli, carrots, corn and chicken broth.
Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Add in cubed cheese, milk and heavy cream
Stir in garlic powder and dried mustard.
Mix until cheese is completely melted (5-10 minutes).
In a separate bowl mix cornstarch and water until cornstarch is dissolved. Then add to soup mixture.
Mix for about 5 minutes on medium high heat until you reach a thickness you like.
Serve, Enjoy.

Dried Edamame Recipe

Oct 17 2013

EASY to make dried edamame recipe using soybeans! This healthy edamame is slow roasted and salted! If you’re growing soybeans this year you need to make this snack!

I love soybeans so I love dried edamame!

I think I start every post with “I love (insert something”).

I love cheese. I love cats. I love donuts. I love snowmen. I love pumpkins. I love you.

But soybeans, yeah, I love them guys. We had a great soybean year and it’s still going on with more plants to pick. The last few days have been chilly and windy but the garden calls, so I throw on a hat and a dramatic attitude (“I’m so cold! I’m not going to survive!”) and get picking soybeans.

Look at this beautiful soybean plant!

So with so many soybeans – what’s a girl to do? Snack on them of course! I know, dried snacks aren’t usually the first thing you think of when you think soybeans. You might think of fresh edamame which is absolutely delicious, but I wanted something to crunch, something with a little salt on it. So say hello to my dried edamame recipe!

Oct 02 2013

EASY, MOIST Jalapeno Cornbread! This Southern recipe uses buttermilk to make the cornbread extra soft! The Jalapenos give it a little Mexican taste! I always serve homemade cornbread with dinner casseroles!

Cornbread. I love you.

Jalapeno Cornbread, I especially love you.

I love how moist you are. I love how brown your edges stay. I love the kick of the jalepenos.

Cornbread is such a comfort food. It’s always a dinner favorite on the side to soak up the juices, gravy or just devour by itself. When I found myself craving some cornbread to go along with BBQ ribs I whipped up this recipe. This cornbread is a winner, and for those that love a spicy kick you will love it. This recipe uses 3 tablespoons of diced jalapeno peppers which makes it spicy enough to give it that extra pop, but not too hot that you can’t eat 6 pieces of cornbread in a row. That’s real talk y’all.

Buttermilk Cornbread

This recipe asks for 1 cup of buttermilk which makes it as soft as a cloud. I didn’t have buttermilk but I learned how to make some quickly with ingredients you have in your kitchen. For 1 cup of buttermilk you need 1 cup of milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice. That’s it! Place your tablespoon of lemon juice in a 1 cup measuring cup. Add your milk to fill up to the 1 cup mark. Then let stand for 5 minutes, you will see it will start to thicken up. Boom, buttermilk! It’s that easy!

Next time you’re looking for a quick cornbread, look away from your usual box mix and make some homemade cornbread. It’s well worth it.

Moist Jalapeno Cornbread recipe

Here’s the mix with our homemade buttermilk added in. I don’t think I’ll ever buy store bought buttermilk again!

Here’s your diced jalapeno. You can use red or green, whatever you prefer.

I did mostly red with a few green pieces thrown in. This would be super cute for Christmas!

Before and after baking.

The top of this cornbread is just purrrrrrrfect.

Let the bread cool then cut into pieces. Try not to eat them all at once.

A little brown on the top..

And brown on the sides…

And perfectly moist inside!

Moist Jalapeno Cornbread, I love you.

Enjoy!

Looking for more jalapeno recipes? Click here.

Pin for later:

Moist Jalapeno Cornbread

EASY, MOIST Jalapeno Cornbread recipe! This Southern recipe uses buttermilk to make the cornbread extra soft! The Jalapenos give it a little Mexican taste! I always serve homemade cornbread with dinner casseroles!

Servings 12

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter - melted
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk see notes for homemade if needed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
3 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl whisk together butter and sugar. Add in eggs, buttermilk and baking soda. Stir to combine.
Add flour, cornmeal, jalapeno peppers and salt. Continue to stir to combine.
Spray a 8x8 pan with non stick spray. Pour cornbread mixture into pan.
Bake for 35 minutes.
Let cool for 20 minutes then cut into slices.

Recipe Notes

For 1 cup of buttermilk you need 1 cup of milk + 1 tablespoon lemon juice. That's it! Place your tablespoon of lemon juice in a 1 cup measuring cup. Add your milk to fill up to the 1 cup mark. Then let stand for 5 minutes, you will see it will start to thicken up. Boom, buttermilk! It's that easy!

Looking for more jalapeno recipes?

Try my…

Candied Jalapenos

Jalapeno Poppers

Cheesy Jalapeno Omelet

Lemon Glazed Zucchini Bread

Sep 30 2013

RECIPE for the BEST fluffy and moist Lemon Glazed Zucchini Bread! There’s 2 cups of grated fresh zucchini baked into this easy to make beautiful bread. On top there’s a lemon powdered sugar glaze frosting!

Zucchini Bread Recipe

Do you grow zucchini in the garden? If you do, you might be thinking “What new recipe should I try?”. Well look no further, you need to make this Lemon Glazed Zucchini Bread!

Sep 18 2013

I am loving this soup. I am loving this weather. I am loving this soup in this weather.

Reasons why I love this White Bean and Kale Pesto Soup:
It’s quick.
It’s easy.
It has white white beans which I love.
It has kale pesto which I love, but you can use any type of pesto.
It uses roasted peppers which I’m officially in love with and can’t stop thinking about.
It’s perfect on a chilly night.
It’s healthy!
It will make you happy!

I was a bit worried how this soup would turn out, it was a new soup adventure but I was so happy with the results. There were leftovers I kept warm for Matthew to eat after he came home later and he kept exclaiming how great this soup was as usually if there is no meat involved it’s not always a favorite, but this was a homerun out of the soup ballpark.

White Bean and Kale Pesto Soup

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Kale Pesto Or any type of pesto you prefer.
2.5 cups Chicken Broth
2 15 oz cans of Great Northern Beans
3/4 cup of Roasted Peppers
2 Tablespoons Parmesan grated
pinch of black pepper

Instructions

To roast the peppers

Preheat your oven to 375 and wash 3-4 medium size bell peppers (any color you want). Leave the stems on. Place the peppers on a aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. Place the sheet in the oven. Every 20 minutes turn the peppers using the stems you left on until 1 hour is up. At this time you should see that all your pepper skins have wrinkled and turned blackish. Take peppers out and cool them for 20 minutes so you can touch them. Once cool peel the peppers so the skin comes off easily. Make sure all seeds are removed from the peppers and disregard them. You should have now have slippery beautiful peppers. Cut them up into small pieces to have 3/4 cup for this recipe.

Directions

Pour your chicken stock into a pot at medium-high heat.
Add beans and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and add your pesto, roasted peppers and pinch of black pepper. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
Add Parmesan cheese and stir soup.
Serve in bowls. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

You can substitute Vegetable Broth for Chicken Broth instead.

Hi, my name is Pamela and I am in love with Roasted Peppers. Oh goodness I just love them! Don’t they just smell amazing?

Here’s the slimy peppers with their skin off. I then cut them up into bite size pieces.

Here’s the main ingredients which you probably already have in your pantry. Here’s my kale pesto recipe if you’d like to use it, or use another pesto if you’d like!

This soup is done so quick. If you have the roasted peppers done ahead of time, even better! I’m going to freeze a bunch up so I can make this all winter long for quick dinners!

I just love seeing the specks of the pesto.. yum!

The roasted peppers really make this special too!

This is totally going to be my Fall soup, I’m already planning on making it again soon!

I hope you enjoy this with a blanket on your lap! Relax and enjoy!

15 Minute Strawberry Peach Jam

Sep 13 2013

103

Homemade 15 MINUTE Strawberry Peach Jam recipe that makes a small batch 8 oz jar without pectin! This healthy, easy recipe is a low sugar jam made with honey that makes a perfect jam for toast, dessert and more. I love canning this recipe too!

Strawberry Jam

Today we are making Strawberry Peach Jam. I am a believer in never letting fruits or vegetables go to waste, I will find something to do with them always. I had a peach that had a short life span but you better believe it – this peach was not going to waste! (Sadly I didn’t have enough to make my favorite Peach Cake!)

So instead of making my usual strawberry jam, I decided to give it a peach twist! The outcome is delicious! And the smell! It smells like Summer!

Strawberry Peach Jam Recipe

My favorite jam recipes are quick. I don’t like hanging out over the stove for 2 hours stirring jam in the Summer. This recipe is quick and is ready in 15 minutes including preparing and cooking.

Berries that have exotic colors are usually rich in antioxidants, and strawberries are no exception to that! Strawberries are proven to help eye care, they boost the immune system (hi Vitamin C!) and brain function and reduce inflammation!

This 15 Minute Strawberry Peach Jam makes 8 oz of jam. Eat all of it. Give some to a friend. Eat all of it. Eat all of it. Eat all of it. Enjoy!

More Jam Recipes

1 Pint Blueberry Jam

Homemade Watermelon Jam

Raspberry Jam

Need more Summer recipes? Try my Peach Cake and Strawberry Soup!

Pin for later:

15 Minute Strawberry Peach Jam

Servings 8 ounces

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries - hulled
1 small peach - cut up into slices peach pit removed
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup honey

Instructions

Put strawberries and peach slices into a food processor and pulse about 10 times until it's a consistency that is slightly chunky.
Transfer into saucepan, add lemon juice and honey. Bring to a light boil on medium-high heat.
Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring often so it does not burn. Once it's reached a jam texture, remove from heat and let cool.
Put into jar and store in refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

Makes 8 oz of jam.

Easy Kale Pesto

Sep 12 2013

Happy Thursday everyone!
How’s the weather where you are? Let me tell you yesterday was not pretty! And by not pretty I mean melting hot in the mid to high 90’s! The good news is that after today there is nothing in the 10 day forecast above 80 degrees! That means the air conditioning can shut off while we sleep! I need the hum of something while I sleep so if the air conditioner is not on, the fan is, and last week we had 2 chilly nights where we slept with the fan on and I got some deep sleeps! I hardly woke up, slept in and overall was a great sleep. Who doesn’t love a deep sleep?

Also who doesn’t love waking up to a cat under the blanket on your belly, a cat on top of your pillow curled into your head, and a cat sleeping next to the bed so it can be the first one to rub against your ankles? I love my babies.. but that’s another post! Note to self: Start making more cat posts. They are necessary for a healthy life!

Can I tell you something about this kale pesto below? It’s delicious. Can I tell you something else? I didn’t know what pesto was until I was in my 20’s. Noone back at home in the hills of the Appalachian Mountains every muttered the word “pesto”. We never had it n my house, friends parents never made it when I was over at their house, it was never offered at the deli counter to dip your crackers in. So you can imagine how amazed I was to find many years later what pesto was and how good it was. That is my excuse for the amount of pesto I eat, to catch up on all those years lost! And I can eat pesto! I can eat it all day!

Sep 10 2013

HEALTHY Watermelon Strawberry Smoothie recipe that is perfect for the SUMMER! All you have to do is throw all the ingredients in the blender for this easy recipe. You can also use frozen fruit if watermelon is out of season. This smoothie is healthy, low calorie (doesn’t use milk) and great for weightloss.

This recipe screams SUMMER! It includes fresh watermelon and strawberries with a touch of lime to create a delicious Summer time smoothie! Throw everything your blender and you have a fresh Smoothie ready in less than a minute!

Watermelon Strawberry Smoothie Recipe

Bonus points if you are using fruit from your garden! If you can’t though, don’t worry, pick up some watermelon and berries from the farmers market. If they’re out of season, you can still enjoy this smoothie – head to the freezer section of your grocery store and pick up frozen watermelon and berries there.

I’m going to leave this recipe post short and sweet and let the Smoothie speak for itself. Enjoy this Watermelon Strawberry Smoothie!

Looking for more Smoothie recipes? Try my Pineapple Strawberry Banana Smoothie and Banana Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie!

Pin for later:

Watermelon Strawberry Smoothie

Course Drinks

Servings 2

Ingredients

3 cups watermelon frozen or fresh
1.5 cups strawberries frozen or fresh – hulled
1 teaspoon lime juice
10 mint leaves
¼ cup water
5 ice cubes

Instructions

If using frozen watermelon and strawberries, defrost in your microwave for 1 minute until slightly soft. If using fresh watermelon and strawberries, defrosting isn’t needed.
Add all fruit, lime juice, mint and water in blender. Blend for about 30 seconds-1 minute until it’s smooth.
Add your ice cubes and blend for about 10 seconds more.
Serve and enjoy!

And if you liked that recipe, I think you’ll like my Watermelon & Strawberry Lime Mint Popsicles.

Green Pepper Cheese Bake

Aug 30 2013

103

This Green Pepper Cheese Bake is a delicious comfort food recipe! It’s also filled with vegetables: 2 pounds of green peppers, 1 cup of tomatoes, 2 cups of corn and 1 cup of spinach. Your family will love it!

I know you all used to watch Full House. And I know you all remember Uncle Jessie. So I know you all know the phrase “Have Mercy.”

So you can imagine my amusement when I pulled this green pepper cheese bake out of the oven and muttered “Have Mercy”. And then I laughed. And then I looked around to make sure none of the cats were judging me. The coast was clear. I put this green pepper dish on the counter, took a step back and repeated “Have Mercy”. This right here is a looker, a real beauty, a real head turner. You get the idea. It’s glorious.

I mean, come on, seriously. Don’t you just want to marry this dish? I do!

The best part of this dish besides the cheese and the cream (haha) is that it’s all vegetables! It’s full of 2 pounds of green peppers, 1 cup of tomatoes, 2 cups of corn and 1 cup of spinach. It’s like your own vegetable garden that will live in your belly!

This can be a side dish, or a meatless dinner! We had it as our main dinner with garlic bread on the side. You will need a little bread to soak up that creamy goodness at the bottom, trust me. You will want it.

Please (takes your hand) make this dish. You deserve it. The world deserves it.

I know, I know, you know it, I love my peppers. I made this video while taking this picture. I’m totally sane.

Your wonderland of vegetables we’ll be using for this recipe!

And to tell you straight up, this corn/tomato/spinach mixture is a great side dish by itself. I took like 6 spoonfuls before it even went into the casserole dish.

Here’s all the steps to get to the top of bake. Into the oven.. you ready? Are you sure?

HAVE MERCY!

This is going in the “YES” section of my recipe book I keep.

And when you have your first bite, I hope you’re sitting! If not, have pillows on the floor!

Green Pepper Cheese Bake, I love you. Dearly. Truly. Forever.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Looking for more pepper recipes? Try my stuffed green pepper casserole!

Green Pepper Cheese Bake Casserole

Ingredients

2 pounds green peppers - cut up into bite size pieces
2 cups corn kernels -fresh cooked or from a can (not frozen)
1 cup cherry tomatoes - halved
1 cup spinach - chopped up
2 cups shredded cheddar/monterey jack cheese
1 tablespoon butter
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat butter in pan over medium heat. Once melted add your tomatoes, spinach and corn and saute to coat everything. Season with salt + pepper.
In a oven safe casserole dish, start to assemble the bake.
Put half of your green peppers at the bottom of the dish.
Put 1/3 of your shredded cheese on top.
Spread your tomatoes/corn/spinach mixture on top.
Put 1/3 of your shredded cheese on top.
Put the remaining half of your green peppers on top.
Put the last 1/3 of your shredded cheese on top.
In a bowl beat eggs, heavy cream and salt + pepper to taste.
Pour this mixture over the top of your bake evenly.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
Turn your oven down to 350 and bake for 25 more minutes.
Enjoy!

Watermelon & Strawberry Lime Mint Popsicles

Aug 27 2013

I am kinda in love with these popsicles. And because they are healthy, I can totally eat as many as I want a day with no regrets! Isn’t that the best?

These popsicles have watermelon, strawberry, lime and mint in them. As a sweetener you can leave as is or you can add a little honey (that’s what I did). With the fruit already sweet, you don’t’ need much additional honey – a little goes a long way. And can we talk about how easy they are? You just throw the ingredients in a food processor, pulse it, pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Boom, done! Amazing!

Aug 19 2013

100

EASY BAKED Onion Rings! This homemade oven baked onion rings recipe is a great side to cheeseburgers! The batter is made with flour, milk, egg, breadcrumbs and spices! We use our garden grown onions to make them – we love how crispy they are!

Let’s talk onion rings. We have harvested so many onions our kitchen looks like a onion shop (if that exists). So after Matthew threw me so many onion ring hints, I took them and promised him onion rings would be made. These onion rings are so easy to make and so delicious to eat!

This recipe uses creole spice mix which I include in the ingredients list to make your own. This seasoning is great for meat rubs, rice dishes and soups too. You can also buy this seasoning mix already made, but you probably have all the ingredients already in your kitchen. If you made this seasoning and put it into mason jars it would be make a awesome gift for fellow cooking lovers.

Beautiful garden onions. You guys are very pretty.

Slice them into 1/4 to 1/2 inch rings.

Here’s your 3 bowls you need. Regular flour, flour batter mixture and bread crumbs.

Step 1: Dip the onions into flour.

Step 2: Into wet flour mixture. This is very important: Make sure to let them drip to get all the excess off. If you don’t, your bread crumb mixture is going to become clumpy and a mess very quick.

Step 3: Dip into bread crumbs.

Into the oven they go…

You want to keep a eye on them so they don’t burn. Mine took 16 minutes. Also you want to flip them midway, I say at the 8 minute mark is good.

And out of the oven they come. All crispy and brown and gorgeous!

Grab a few Easy Baked Onion Rings and enjoy!

EASY BAKED Onion Rings

Ingredients

2 large onions - sliced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch rings
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1 egg - beaten
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon creole spice mix
salt + pepper to taste

creole spice mix

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon thyme

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Place half or your flour into a bowl.
Mix the other half of flour with milk and beaten egg. Mix in breadcrumbs, creole spice mix, salt + pepper.
One by one, dip your onion into the plain flour mixture.
Next, dip your onion into the flour batter mixture. Let excess batter drip off before moving to the next step.
Next, dip your onion into breadcrumbs so covered.
Put onion slices on parchment lined baking sheet.
Cook until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Halfway through baking, flip each onion ring so it's baked evenly.

The Best Stewed Tomatoes Ever

Aug 14 2013

389

The BEST Stewed Tomatoes Ever recipe! This easy to make recipe simmers tomatoes for 30 minutes to make homemade stewed tomatoes that can be served as a dinner side dish or can be canned. This how to make recipe shows you how easy they are to make! Find out why everyone considers them THE BEST! We always use this as a canning recipe for our Summer garden tomatoes!

Homemade Stewed Tomatoes Recipe

Stewed tomatoes, sigh.

Our tomatoes are turning red quicker than I’m able to pick. So between oven roasted cherry tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, tomato pesto, slow cooker tomatoes, tomato soup… there’s lots of tomato dishes going on in our kitchen! Oh and I did mention Fresh Tomato Salsa too – because you know August always means fresh salsa!

I will have many more upcoming tomato recipes…get ready tomato lovers! But for now… stewed tomatoes!

These stewed tomatoes are the best, I’m not fibbing either. If you are having a tomato harvest soon or would like to make your own instead of the canned version, please please please please please make these!

How to Make Stewed Tomatoes Video

Jul 24 2013

124

HOMEMADE Blueberry Jam recipe made from 1 pint of blueberries! This easy to make no pectin, no sugar recipe is perfect for eating and canning. This healthy jam is delicious served over toast, pancakes, french toast and ice cream!

Blueberry Jam Recipe

We’re jammin’, I wanna jam it wid you. We’re jammin’, jammin’, And I hope you like blueberry jammin’, too.

I was craving fresh blueberry jam but I didn’t want to make a big batch of it, in fact I wanted to make jam with just 1 pint of blueberries. Maybe you’ll pick fresh blueberries from your garden or maybe you’ll pick up a pint of blueberries from the farmers market, either way you can enjoy this easy and quick recipe.

1 Pint Blueberry Jam

This jam recipe is incredibly easy to make! You’ll want to add 1 pint blueberries, honey, cinnamon and lemon juice to a saucepan. Bring it to a boil for about 30 minutes, or until it’s jam consistency, giving it a stir every few minutes to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pot.

This jam recipe can easily be tweaked to other berries – like blackberries or raspberries too! A few people reached out to me to ask me if they could use frozen blueberries in the recipe instead of fresh… well you can!

I prefer fresh berries for this recipe but frozen berries will still taste good. Just make sure to defrost the blueberries before you add to the pan, and keep a eye on the jam as the berries might cooker quicker than fresh ones.

How many cups is 1 pint of blueberries?

1 pint of blueberries equals about 2 cups fresh blueberries.

Don’t you love how flavorful blueberries are? I love that they’re so tiny but filled with flavor! They’re great to add to mini blueberry muffins, overnight oats, blueberry buckle or just enjoy on a piece of toast (like this jam!). In case you needed more reason to like blueberries, they also are high in antioxidants, boost brain health, support digestion and promote heart health!

I love spreading this blueberry jam on toast, scones (here’s my easy scones recipe), muffins, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pancakes, french toast or more. It’s also delicious served over ice cream! However you serve it – I hope you enjoy it!

Looking for more jam recipes?

If you like this Blueberry Jam recipe, try these other family favorite jams:

Raspberry Jam

Homemade Watermelon Jam

Strawberry Peach Jam

Need more Summer recipes? Try my Cantaloupe Salad and Half Sour Pickles!

Pin for later:

1 Pint Blueberry Jam

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword blueberry jam recipe

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Put all ingredients into a saucepan and stir.
Bring to boil, then simmer for 30-35 minutes until jam consistency.
Keep in jar refrigerated.

Recipe Video

Homemade Tomato Paste

Jul 23 2013

This is the beginning of many tomato posts to come in the next few weeks. Right now we’re handling Tomato Season 2013 so I’m constantly looking for new tomato ideas to both use our harvest, but also preserve so we can enjoy it until next summer!

A great way to use up lots of tomatoes you have is to make homemade tomato paste. Tomato paste is a great ingredient to have on hand to thicken up sauce and soups. Not to mention it’s a great base to make some yummy marinara sauce. I love this specific recipe because we are going to freeze them in ice cube trays which means you can use a little bit at a time. No more using one of those tomato paste cans that you only need 2 tablespoons for. By using ice cube tray size you use what you need, nothing goes to waste.

The best type of tomatoes for paste is roma or plum tomatoes (think elongated in shape) because they have the least amount of seeds. In this recipe, we don’t take the skin off or deseed the tomatoes, we just cut them in half. Tomato paste is super easy to make, it just takes a little patience until it’s done. It’s made by cooking the tomatoes on the stove for hours to the point of where you boil away all the liquid, causing a very concentrate form of tomatoes, which turns into “paste”. By the time the hours are over, you are going to have beautiful tomato paste.. and a house that smells wonderful! You will be hungry after smelling this on the stove.. 🙂 These cubes last a very long time, months. I could easily throw a cube in some tomato sauce in January that I make this week. I love these tomato paste cubes because when it’s snowing out and I reach for one, I get to remember the good garden days had months prior.. and that just makes me smile!

Homemade Tomato Paste

Ingredients

3-4 pounds of roma or plum tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic

Instructions

Slice tomatoes in half.
Put tomatoes and garlic in food processor (in batches), pulse until smooth.
Put your tomatoes in a pot, add salt and stir.
Turn your stove on to medium high heat and bring the tomatoes to a boil.
Turn your stove down to low medium heat to keep them at a constant low simmering boil.
Cover and cook for 3 hours, stirring once in a while, until tomatoes turn into a paste and liquid is gone.
Put your paste in ice cube trays and freeze.

Here’s your beautiful roma tomatoes.

Slice them in half and take the stems off if there are any.

Throw in food processor and pulse until liquid smooth. Then it goes onto the stove.. in a few hours all that liquid tomato will turn into…

Great smelling tomato paste!

Fill up your ice cube trays and throw in the freezer.

Pop a tomato paste cube out whenever you need one!

Easy and fresh, does it get any better?

Turkey Kale Meatball Sub

Jul 17 2013

HEALTHY Ground Turkey Kale Meatball Sub! These meatballs are fried on the stove and then covered with tomato sauce and American cheese on a sub roll! This homemade recipe is easy, healthy and your family will love it! Even my Midwest husband thinks this is the BEST meatball sandwich!

Who doesn’t like a good meatball sub? It’s quick, it’s hearty, it’s sloppy, you get to eat it with your fingers. It’s meat, cheese and tomato sauce – how can you go wrong? But with this one we’re going to mix it up a little bit and add some kale to get your greens in! Don’t be alarmed by the combination of kale and meat together in this sub – once everything is mixed together, it just works. My husband is a Midwest boy who loves his hearty dinners and this sub is A+ in his book!

This meatball sub is based on my kale meatballs recipe which I first made last summer and fell in love with. These turkey meatballs are great over spaghetti, yummy grilled as a finger food on a stick, but they are delicious on a sub roll! This kale turkey sandwich is one of our dinner favorites!

A meatball sub isn’t finished until it’s slathered in tomato sauce and then American cheese is melted on top – then it’s ready to eat!

Enjoy one of my all time favorite sandwiches, Turkey Kale Meatball Sub!

Pin for later:

Healthy Turkey Kale Meatball Sub

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups uncooked chopped fresh kale
Pinch of dried rosemary parsley, oregano, thyme
3 cloves garlic
1 pound ground turkey
1 egg
Sub Rolls
American cheese slices
Tomato Sauce

Instructions

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan over medium high heat. Add kale and spices. Cook until your kale is wilted.
Put kale mixture and garlic into a food processor to mince. Add your turkey and egg and pulse until it’s all combined.
Form this mixture into 2 inch balls.
Use your same pan (its already greased) and heat to medium high.
Add your meatballs and cook until browned on all sides (make sure to flip them), about 10-15 minutes.

For the sub

Cut your sub rolls down the middle.
Add meatballs on sub roll to fit.
Add 2 slices of American cheese slices on top of the meatballs. Melt cheese in microwave or toaster oven if needed.
Spoon tomato sauce on top.

Recipe Notes

Servings: 3-4

Pepperoni Pizza Cauliflower Casserole

Jul 09 2013

You’ll love this baked extra cheesy Pepperoni Pizza Cauliflower Casserole recipe.

Who doesn’t like pizza? I love it.

Who doesn’t like cauliflower? I love it.

Cauliflower pizza casserole is born!

When I first found a great cauliflower pizza casserole recipe it called for pureed cauliflower, but pureeing cauliflower that we grew seemed like a absolute sin to me. I can’t give so much energy and love to our garden cauliflower and then just blend it up, that would be the saddest thing ever. If we were ever to sell produce commercially I would put on every single package a (cute) warning sign that says “YOU MAY NOT PUREE ME, IT WILL MAKE PAMELA VERY SAD, PLEASE LOVE CAULIFLOWER WHOLE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH”. So in my recipe, we cut it into small bite size pieces. I prefer it this way as well as the cheese will get in all the nooks and crannies of the cauliflower. And who doesn’t’ like cheese? Especially with cauliflower. This is a absolute win situation.

Here’s your cauliflower. Mine happens to talk.

Here’s your cream, butter and garlic mixture. Pizza always needs a little garlic.

And here’s your pepperoni. I quartered each slice. Do this with scissors, a knife or just tear it apart with your hands.

This is step 1 of the casserole, your cauliflower/butter mixture/pepperoni are all mixed up.

Step 2: Add your pizza sauce.

Step 3: Add your cheese! Be brave, cover this sucker.

Step 4: Pepperoni time. Feel free to eat a few slices too, I won’t tell anyone.

Then into the oven it goes…

And out of the oven it comes! Mamma-Mia!

The cheese is melted, a little bubbly, a little brown. I have pure joy right now.

Then take a few whole basil leave and put it on top. I love pizza with fresh basil.

Cauliflower Pepperoni Pizza Casserole, it’s like having your own garden pizzeria! Major winner here – enjoy!

Cauliflower Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Ingredients

1 large cauliflower head - cut up into small bite size pieces
4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter - melted
2 cloves garlic - minced
15 slices of pepperoni - quartered
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

For on top of the casserole

3/4 cup pizza sauce
12 slices pepperoni
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
fresh basil to garnish

Instructions

Chop your clean cauliflower into small bite size pieces. Steam for 2 minutes, drain. Put into casserole dish.
In a bowl mix your butter, heavy cream and garlic.
Pour butter mixture over cauliflower.
Add quartered pepperoni slices, 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella on top of your cauliflower.
Mix everything up so cauliflower is coated.
Spread your pizza sauce evenly on top of your cauliflower.
Pour your 1 cup shredded mozzarella evenly on top.
Put your sliced pepperoni on top.
Cook at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
Garnish with basil when it comes out of the oven.
Enjoy!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Jul 03 2013

I have a few rules for lunch.

-It has to be yummy.
-It has to be easy.
-It can’t use the oven.

Every single day when I eat lunch I sit in front of my computer, usually catching up on email or going through my blog reader to see what all my great recipe/garden friends are up to. You know lunch is exceptional when you plan to do this, but the only thing you can do is turn your monitor on before you devour your entire lunch without touching the keyboard or mouse once. This lunch time experience was just me and the stuffed pepper and it was a good one.

These stuffed peppers are:
-Yummy. Very.
-Quick and easy. The thing that takes the most time is making the quinoa.
-It doesn’t use the oven. It uses the stove top and the microwave.
-Fresh! Garden pepper and spinach, yum!

Here’s all your beautiful ingredients. Such a pretty lunch we’ll be having!

Hello Mr. Pepper! You are huge, beautiful and delicious. I love you dearly.

Here’s your quinoa with chopped up spinach and garlic. The way I make my quinoa is 1/4 cup dry quinoa with 1/2 cup water. Bring to boil, then simmer and cover for 15 minutes.

After I melt the cheese, I put the pepper top back on. More pepper to eat makes me a happy girl!

If you have any quinoa that can’t fit in your pepper, I just put it on the side. Also, I always put extra tomato sauce on top. I love tomato sauce. When it’s time to start picking tomatoes from the garden this will all be fresh. I can’t wait!

Lunch Time Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Servings 1

Ingredients

1 green pepper - seeds removed and top cut off but keep the top!
1/4 cup dry quinoa
4 spinach leaves - chopped
1 clove garlic - minced
2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
tomato sauce - amount depends on your preference

Instructions

Cook your quinoa as instructed on box.
Cook green pepper in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain, set aside.
When quinoa is done, add spinach and garlic and mix around.
Fill pepper with quinoa mixture. Add a spoonful of sauce on top, then cover with your mozzarella cheese.
Microwave for 20-30 seconds until your cheese is melted.
Add another spoonful of tomato sauce on top.
Put your green pepper top on.
Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

You can add additional tomato sauce all over the pepper as desired.
This recipe is for one 1 pepper, if you want 2 peppers, duplicate it and so on.

Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

Jun 24 2013

We’ve harvested alot of broccoli this season. Every single plant produced a beautiful big head of broccoli. You guys know I love broccoli already, but do you know I love macaroni and cheese too? Macaroni and cheese is a comfort food and it holds dear memories of my father making me dinner every single day he was home from work during high school. He knew I loved that mac and cheese so he made it once a week, I was a very happy girl. Thanks Dad!

So what happens when you mix comfort food with happy harvest? You get one of my favorite broccoli dishes: Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese. I love macaroni and cheese of all sorts. I’m fine with the box, I’m super fine with homemade. I’m fine with it made with cheese that comes in a foil package (Where my Velveeta fans at?), I’m super fine with a baked version. This recipe is a in between, yes it’s baked, but the inside of the dish is still soft and cheesy and gooey. It’s just perfect, the best of both worlds.

So if you like mac and cheese and you like broccoli, this dish is for you!

Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
4 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
8 ounces Velveeta cheese
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Boil water and cook macaroni as instructed on box. When there is 3 minutes left, add your broccoli to the boiling pot. Drain and set aside.
In a saucepan melt your butter over medium heat. Slowly add flour, dry mustard and pepper until it's smooth.
Add your milk slowly and keep stirring until it's smooth.
Add in your cheese and continue to stir until it's smooth.
Take off burner.
Add your macaroni to cheese mixture saucepan and stir until all noodles are coated.
Transfer your mixture to a baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
Cover and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly.
Enjoy!

We have a big bag right now full of broccoli. Every time I open it I just smile and breathe in the scent of broccoli.

For this recipe, you need 4 cups of florets. I leave mine pretty big.

For this, we’re going to cook our macaroni, then when there’s 3 minutes left we’re going to throw our broccoli in too. This means only one pot to clean. High 5.

Drain and set aside for a few minutes.

Hello cheese. I love you so much. I like to use 2 different versions of cheese for this recipe so I use good ol Velveeta and Monterey Jack.

Shred it however you want. I was lazy so I put it in my food processor.

Now we want to start to make the cheese sauce so get your butter melted.

Then add in your flour, dry mustard and pepper. You’ll want to mix quickly until it’s smooth.

Then add your water and keep stirring.

Then your beautiful cheese. This take a few minutes for it to melt, but keep stirring.

Great job, some yummy cheese sauce there.

Take your macaroni and broccoli and add to the cheese sauce.

Perfect!

Transfer to a baking dish.

You can see here it’s still pretty soupy, but this cheese is going to melt beautifully and hold it all together.

Add your bread crumbs and into the oven it goes…

And out pops out this beautiful dinner after 20 minutes!

The bread crumbs are just slightly golden brown, just how I like them.

And see how the cheese all melted together and it’s no longer too wet, instead it’s gooey and cheesy and oh my!

Serve some up. You can add some bread on the side if you’d like too. Who doesn’t like bread on the side?

And enjoy this broccoli macaroni and cheese!

Braised Lettuce

Jun 13 2013

You’ll start to love lettuce once you make this Braised Lettuce recipe! Braising consists of lightly frying, and then simmering like a stew for full flavor!

I love this braised lettuce. Love, Love, Love.

As we have been harvesting our lettuce plants, I have been requesting this almost every single night. Most people use lettuce in salads or as a topping, but in this recipe you can use it as a entire side dish. When I first learned about braised lettuce I didn’t think twice about making it because just lettuce as a side, really? Then I tried it and my opinion changed immediately. Just like my lettuce soup recipe, this one is a life changer too!

It’s such a easy recipe consisting of just a few ingredients, but it packs such a hit in taste. Braising consists of lightly frying, and then simmering like a stew. Just as you would expect in the greens family, lettuce wilts much, so as it simmers, it gets tender. As it simmers, the lettuce will pick up the garlic and broth. Your lettuce will be full of flavor. It’s so great.

Please, please see this past recipe as “just lettuce” and give it a try.

Braised Lettuce

Ingredients

1 head of lettuce cut up into quarters - washed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 clove minced garlic
salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

Take your washed lettuce head and cut it up into quarters.
Head olive oil and minced garlic in pan over medium heat. Add your quarters of lettuce, cut side down.
Saute until the side is lightly brown. This takes about 10 minutes.
Turn over, add your chicken broth and bring to a slight boil.
Turn down to low, cover and heat for 15 minutes.
Add salt + pepper to taste.
Serve as desired.

Recipe Notes

Bibb or Romaine lettuce works well.
You can substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth.

First, let’s take a minute and admire this gorgeous lettuce we grew. Sigh.

This recipe calls for one head, so cut it into quarters so you have 4 pieces.

Lettuce, you are so pretty. For this recipe I used buttercrunch because that’s what we grow. You can use Bibb variety, or Romaine – it’s up to you.

Take your lettuce and put it in a pan with olive oil and garlic. Make sure you put it cut side down in the pan.

Once it’s slightly golden brown, you’re going to flip it over to the other side.

Then add your chicken broth. Alternatively, you can use vegetable broth if you’d like. Bring to a boil, then put your heat on low and cover for 15 minutes.

When the 15 minutes is up, you will notice how much your lettuce has wilted. Then you will smell that aroma and smile. Then you will taste the lettuce and faint.

Who knew, lettuce could be this good? I’m a lettuce believer now.

You can use this in many ways, feel free to even think outside the box, like putting it on pasta or rice… or a sandwich!