Bacon, Tomato, & White Bean Soup

Bacon, Tomato, & White Bean Soup via Rachael Ray

I think the bacon in this recipe is going to take tomato soup to a whole new level.  Maybe I'll melt some cheese on top of my charred bread, just for nostalgia's sake.  

Chickpea Burgers w/ Tomatoes

Chickpea Burgers w/ Tomatoes via Rachael Ray

I have a confession: I have bought ingredients to make these chickpea burgers on two previous occasions, and I have bailed out both times.  Does that ever happen to you?

Oftentimes I do this if the recipe is new/unfamiliar and seems complicated.  (In this case, it's a recipe I've never tried, and the whole making-the-chickpea-patties part seems like a lot of work without reading the recipe.)

Part of my health/budget deal with myself this year is to follow through on more meal plans.  I bail out waaaay too easily.  (It doesn't help that my daughter is often begging to go "bye bye yummy"...aka out to eat.  I LOVE eating out--I fold under the begging pressure all too often!)

This week, when I get to Friday (also another excuse for bailing out--the whole "oh come on, I've cooked all week" excuse), I am going to read through the recipe with plenty of time in advance and commit to "just do it" all Nike-style.  A glass of wine and some music in the kitchen always give me some good motivation.

(And just to help motivate YOU, the recipe sounds like these burgers practically make themselves in the food processor!)

BLT Creamy Mac-N-Cheese

BLT Creamy Mac-n-Cheese via Rachael Ray

My daughter has declared at the dinner table on many occasions (while practically drinking ketchup or salsa through a straw) her pure and total hatred of tomatoes.  Those geniuses at PBS came up with a Daniel Tiger episode last year that contains the song lyrics, "You've gotta try new foods 'cause they might taste good."  This helped a little in other food categories, but never with her tomato hatred.

I continued to serve foods with tomatoes in/on them that my daughter could choose to eat or pass up.  I did not make a "thing" out of her having to try them again, nor did I leave them out of the recipe because I knew she wouldn't eat them.  

To be completely honest, *I* don't love tomatoes...by themselves.  But I like them in or with other foods.  I finally fessed up to this one day when my daughter saw me eating around the whole cherry tomatoes in my salad.  Instead of this bolstering her hatred of the food, I think it helped her view them as a "sometimes" food instead of a "never" food.  Our great compromise was BLT's.  The girl loves her bacon.  Sheepish delight spread over her face one day as she admitted, "I like tomatoes in BLT's."  (This has become a great reminder for other foods she continues to insist on hating.  But really, she's three and a half...so in reality, she asks what's for dinner every afternoon, and after hearing my answer immediately says, "I don't like ___."  Then she asks for seconds that evening.)

So this meal is for my daughter, myself, and all the sometimes-tomato-haters out there.  May we all find a dish with a dreaded food that will compel us to ask for seconds.

Gnocchi w/ Tomato Broth

via

I received "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" (by Deb Perelman) for Christmas from my husband.  Merry Christmas to HIM, right?  ;)  I've loved SK's blog for many moons, and now I have made a hobby of drooling over her cookbook.

The vegetarian main dish section in this book caught my eye, and I thought I'd try a couple of them this week.  

The tomato broth in this dish is. so. good.  I could use it as a base for a billion other recipes.  It may seem like kind of a pain to let something simmer on the stove for 45 minutes, but I think that is when the magic occurs, so don't mess with this very good thing.

Have you ever had gnocchi?  (Pronounced "NO-key")  It is one of my favorite "pastas," but I've only had it with creamy sauces.  When I found these instructions for making my own, I just had to try it out!

If you're interested in making your own gnocchi, as SK does in her book, give yourself about an hour & a half before dinner to try this recipe out: (more notes on this dish can be found here on the Smitten Kitchen blog:

via

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs Russet potatoes (3 or 4)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp table salt
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface

{I used white whole-wheat flour for half of the flour called for in this recipe...in hindsight, I think I would splurge & stick with all-purpose flour.}

DIRECTIONS:
Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size, until a thin knife can easily pierce through them. Meanwhile, prepare the tomato broth.

Let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes after baking, then peel them with a knife or a peeler. Run the potatoes through a potato ricer or grate them on the large holes of a box grater.

{I used my food processor for this and it took 0.012 seconds.  Easy peasy.}

Cool them to lukewarm, about another 10 minutes. Add the egg and salt, mixing to combine. Add 1/2 cup flour, and mix to combine. Add the next 1/2 cup flour, mixing again. Add 1/4 cup flour, and see if this is enough to form a dough that does not easily stick to your hands. If not, add the last 1/4 cup of flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is soft but only a little sticky, and able to hold its shape enough to be rolled into a rope.

{I mixed my dough by hand, and I think next time I'll try the mixer or dough attachment on the food processor.  My gnocchi was *just* undermixed.  If you mix by hand, make sure you don't skip the kneading in the next step!}

Knead the dough together briefly, gently, on a counter, just for a minute. Divide the dough into quarters. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 3/4-inch thick. Cut each rope into 3/4-inch lengths.

{My family decided we would like these smaller than what I made--my gnocchi was more of a 1-in length.  I would stick with 3/4-in or even 1/2-in.}

Place the gnocchi, a quarter-batch at a time, into a pot of boiling well-salted water. Cook the gnocchi until they float — about 2 minutes — then drain.

ON THE SIDE SUGGESTION: We didn't need anything on the side, but Smitten Kitchen recommends shaved parmesan or a dollop of ricotta cheese over the top for a little something extra.

Week of July 16, 2012

We've been running 90 miles per hour at the Faris casa as of late, and I took Monday to catch up on some rest.  Sorry the calendar is up a little late this week!

Subscriptions are now closed for July, and they were so popular this month that I will be unable to take individual orders until August begins--I am BOOKED!  Thank you, new clients, for trying me out!  I want to be able to make the most delicious food possible without sacrificing quality for quantity, so if you were wanting to try some Frugal Foodie, wait a couple of weeks and the menus will be open again.

This week's menu:

Salad Dressing of the Week: Balsamic Vinaigrette

Bread of the Week: Artisan Loaf

1. Cornell Chicken

• Monday the 16th is my birthday!  Hooray!  Lucky you, because you get to eat my favorite chicken.  Cornell chicken (which originated from Cornell University tailgates in upstate New York) is marinated to salty/tangy perfection, and it can be prepared outside on the grill or indoors in a pan.
• {Preparation: Grill; 10-15mins total}

2. Pasta w/ Marinated Tomatoes

• This is a recipe from Real Simple a few years ago, and although it is (ahem) really simple, it screams SUMMER TOMATOES to me.  The tomatoes are marinated with onions, mozzarella, olive oil, salt, & pepper and then tossed with pasta.
• {Preparation: I'm going to provide the ingredients for the marinated tomatoes, but I won't pre-prepare because I want them at their FRESHEST when you cut/eat them, so...Chop onion & tomatoes, toss with added ingredients; Cook pasta; 30mins total}

3. Grilled Honey-Vinegar Pork Chops

• Bone-in pork chops marinated in red wine vinegar, honey, & oregano and tossed on the grill.
• {Preparation: Grill, 10-15mins total}

4. Salad w/ Peaches, Basil, & Mozzarella

• Jones Orchard is up to their ears in fresh peaches.  Let's help them out.  This mixed green salad will be topped with ripe peaches, fresh basil, & mozzarella fresca.
• {Preparation: Slice, toss; 10mins total}

5. Farmers' Market Pizza

• Homemade pizza crust topped with the freshest yummy produce I find at the Farmer's Market this week.  Don't worry, melted cheese will be involved as well.  ;)
• {Preparation: Heat in oven, 10-15mins total}

Deliveries will be between 3-5p on Sunday.  See you then, foodies!