Roasted Ricotta Romas

This first photo is misleading...the above are not roasted toms! Keep reading ;-)

I frequent the website Pioneer Woman. So much of the food she makes, make my mouth water – a lot…like, I become a droolin’ fool.

I’ve made a few of the recipes she’s posted on her site – Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies (her name not mine...and her pic, not mine, shown above). I sometimes follow the exact recipe and other times adapt them to what fits my family’s tastes a bit more.

Some things she makes I’ve known about for years like these French Breakfast Puffs (again, this pic is from her site). I grew up making these – they were one of the first ‘from scratch’ items I ever baked- and I made them way more often than I should've – very often with my best friend Lynette. The nutmeg in them is heaven (!).

Pioneer Woman is friends with Pastor Ryan – a young, hip, tattoo-adorned pastor who, like her, is a creative and awesome cook. A couple of weeks ago, I came across his Roasted Ricotta Roma Tomatoes and knew I had to make them! By this posting I’ve already made them four times – they are easy and delicious and my husband and daughter love them as much as I hoped they would.

These are my roasted romas…the pic doesn't do them justice -they got yummy and brown on top...camera too close? Too much light?

Anyway....

I add two extra ingredients that Pastor Ryan doesn’t, parmesan and a little grated mozzarella – because everything’s better with more cheese!

Follow this super simple recipe for a totally yummy (and impressive looking!) side dish that everyone will love!

Roasted Ricotta Roma Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 handful fresh parsley - chopped
1 handful fresh basil - chopped
2 -3 garlic cloves – crushed/minced
8 roma tomatoes – halved/gutted (see below)
1 ½ cups (approx) ricotta cheese
½ cup grated mozzerella cheese
¼ cup Panko bread crumbs or crushed Ritz
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Kosher salt
Salt-n-pepper to taste
Olive oil (I usually skip this ingred.)

Directions:
Wash, dry and halve the romas. Use your fingers to extract the seeds and then use a small paring knife, spoon or strawberry huller to scrape out the ribs/membrane inside to leave a hollow ‘half-shell’. Sprinkle the insides of the tomatoes with the kosher salt, then place the halves upside down on a t-towel to drain (they won’t emit a lot of liquid, so don’t expect a watery mess or anything).

Add the chopped herbs, garlic, mozzarella cheese to the ricotta and mix well. Add salt-n-pepper to taste. Heap each roma half with the cheese mixture. Once all are filled, combine the pankos or crushed Ritz with the parmesan cheese in small bowl and dip the romas – cheese side down – into the crumb mixture. Place the romas – cheese side up – on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil if desired.

Bake in a 375-degree oven for about 20 minutes when the tops will be golden brown and bubbly. Serve while hot and most gooey and delicious!!

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad

Since discovering this yummy, summery salad about a year ago, it has become one of my family’s favorite dishes. It’s light, super flavorful and the perfect accompaniment to so much of what we grill during the spring and summer months. The chipotle in adobo is the key to giving it that ‘something special’. If you can’t roast your corn on the bbq, cut it off the ear and do it in a pan on the stove top – furthermore, if you make this in the off-season or while corn-on-the-cob is costly, you can use frozen – however, I strongly recommend using high-quality, super-sweet white corn as opposed to petite yellow kernels or a lesser quality brand corn. I tried using an ‘on sale brand a few weeks ago and the corn was chewy, not sweet and had zero life to it at all. I tossed the whole lot and remade the salad anew. This salad is too good to eat unperfect – I shoulda known better than to cut a CORN-er! ;-)

Enjoy this bright and flavorful salad!

Roasted Corn Salad

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 Tbs. fresh orange juice
1 tsp. diced chipotle chili in adobo,
plus 1 Tbs. of the adobo sauce
1/4 tsp. salt (add more to taste to your liking)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. honey
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
7 ears of corn, husks and silks removed
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro – finely chopped, plus cilantro leaves for garnish
3 to 4 roma tomatoes diced small
1/2 red pepper – diced small
1/3 red onion – diced small

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, orange juice, chipotle chili and adobo sauce, 1 tsp. of the salt, the garlic, honey and the 1/4 cup olive oil until smooth. Set the vinaigrette aside. Prepare a hot fire in a grill or preheat a grill pan over high heat. *Rub the ears of corn with the 2 Tbs. olive oil and the remaining 1 tsp. salt. Grill the corn, turning occasionally, until charred in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter. When the corn is cool enough to handle, remove the kernels from the cobs and place the kernels in a large bowl. *If a bbq grill or grill pan is not available, you can cut kernels from fresh ears (or use frozen corn in a pinch) and roast/fry it in the olive oil in a pan stovetop until the kernels begin to get golden brown.Add the black beans, chopped cilantro, tomatoes, onion and vinaigrette and stir until well combined. Let flavors for about an hour before serving. Garnish with the cilantro leaves. Serve chilled for at least an hour. Enjoy!

Changin' Up Tacos.....

Not a beautifully staged pic but I think it gets the point across.

We didn’t actually celebrate Cinco de Mayo yesterday – but we did have dinner with a Mexican flair. We love soft tacos and I try to think up new ways to make them rather than using the usual ground beef. I’ve used ground turkey then amped it up with a can of drained kidney or pinto beans and chopped green chilies. I’ve also used cut raw chicken into super small pieces and cooked it in taco seasoning and other spices with along with chilies. One of our fave soft tacos has either grilled halibut – or in a pinch, crispy fried fish fillets, topped with shredded cabbage, Mexican crema, cojita cheese and cilantro. Still another taco change-up we've done was mixing taco seasoning in with raw ground beef, then shaping the meat into half circles and bbqing the patties before placing them in soft corn tortillas along with our toppings of choice. I find it really fun to think up new ways to keep taco night a little different each time!

Last night I cut up a couple of huge chicken breasts into four big chunks each, then marinated it in a little olive oil and a packet of Fajita seasoning, salt-n-pepper and a generous dousing of garlic powder. Toppings included most of the usual…tomatoes, onions, light sour cream, cheese, salsa, shredded lettuce and a bunch of chopped cilantro – that really kicks it up. Cilantro can take some getting used to, but it really sets it all into motion. Anyway….once the chicken had marinated for about 45 minutes, we tossed it on a hot bbq and once cooked through, I sliced up each grill-mark-kissed piece….Mmmmm….the additional smoky bbq flavor was SO good! We used whole wheat tortillas to wrap up all the goodness and what we got was a bunch of not-too-fattening, delicious mouthfuls!

Why not try a new and tasty taco for yourself!