Warm and Comforting Roasted Tomato Soup

This was the perfect meal on a cold week night after a really crazy and stressful day at work last week.

And with all the tomatoes, it's got plenty of antioxidants and is somewhat healthy! We fixed that by making super yummy grilled cheese sandwiches (with some of the yummy deli meat we had used last week for the calzones we made).

This is NOT the quickest of easiest meal to make so I just want to warn you that unless you REALLY want to try it, I'd skip this one if you're in a hurry or really busy!

Here's how you make it.

Ingredients

• 6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes (we used 2 pints and it made 4 large servings)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 cup chopped onion (we didn't use this and it was fine without it since we don't like onions)
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme (also skipped this cause we didn't have any at the house!)
• 1 cup whipping cream

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°. On a baking sheet, combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes.
2. In a large pot, heat the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.
3. Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return it to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper, if necessary.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls. We garnished ours with some fresh parmesan. Makes about 10 cups (that was 4 servings for us since it wasn't a side, but a meal).

Nutritional Information:

Per serving of Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled-Cheese Croutons (1 cup and 6 croutons): Calories 272 Total Fat 21 g (33% DV) Saturated Fat 12 g (58% DV) Cholesterol 55 mg (18% DV) Sodium 978 mg (41% DV) Total Carbohydrate 16 g (5% DV) Fiber 2g (8% DV) Sugars 6g Protein 5 g (10% DV) Vitamin A 1344 IU (27% DV) Vitamin C 25 mg (41% DV) Percent daily values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

 
Source: http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/roasted-tomato-soup-699298/

Ham and potato casserole

I know, so far I've only written about recipes... it's a start though, right? This didn't help toward my goal of being healthiery... but hey, I'm saving money AND cooking more! Well... in this case, I didn't cook it, my sweet husband did!

I asked him to cook the potatoes and hard boil the eggs, and came home to an entire casserole in the oven with NO trace of him having cooked in the kitchen... yes, he also emptied the dishwasher AND loaded the dirty dishes in there. I am blessed!

We had ham a couple of days ago and have a bunch of it left so I looked up a few recipes... I might make a quiche Saturday morning, yum!

After a rough day at work, this was the perfect comfort food... I mean, potatoes, ham, and eggs just scream comfort to me! We thought the eggs would make it weird (more like an egg salad) but it actually added great flavor! Okay, enough chit-chat, here's the recipe!

Prep time: 25 min.
Cooking time: 30 min.
Makes: 6 servings
 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) sour cream
• 4 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Colby cheese
• 8 hard-cooked eggs
• 3 cups cubed cooked potatoes
• 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 

Directions

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cheeses. Cook and stir over low heat just until cheese is melted (mixture will be thick). Remove from the heat. Stir in the eggs, potatoes, ham, onion and parsley.
• Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and edges are golden brown. 

Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 piece) equals 594 calories, 39 g fat (22 g saturated fat), 398 mg cholesterol, 1,522 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 29 g protein.

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Ham--n--Potato-Casserole

Flavorful and simple linguine

Isaac and I only had about 40 minutes between me getting home from work and having to leave for youth last night so we made this really simple linguine and it was so delicious even Isaac, who isn't normally a big fan of pasta, gobbled it up in no time!

He cooked the pasta so I'm not sure how much he put in there compared to what the recipe calls for but we had leftovers and the whole thing probably cost less than $4 to make!


Ingredients:
-1/2 pound linguine pasta
-2 tablespoons salted butter
-1/4 cup heavy cream
-1/2 clove garlic, finely minced
-lots of salt & pepper, to taste {we used a good bit of salt but didn't need to add a lot of pepper}
-1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid from pasta {optional, we didn't need this}
-3/4 cup freshly grated parmigianno reggiano {use the real stuff!}
-fresh parsley, for garnish {optional, we didn't use any}

Directions:
Bring large pot of water up to boil. Sprinkle in a generous amount of salt and stir in pasta. Cook linguine until al dente and drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Place linguine back into hot pot and stir in butter, cream, garlic, salt, pepper and cheese until butter and cheese start to melt and create a sauce. Pour in some pasta water to get the sauce to the consistency you want {We actually didn't need to do this}. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. Pour onto serving platter and top with fresh parsley and more grated cheese.

Source: http://www.laurenslatest.com/parmesan-garlic-linguine-super-easy/

Super Easy Calzone Rolls!

I decided it was time to get started on being better about saving money and cooking more. I get home from work around 5:50 so I never have tons of time to cook before we get really hungry so we started with something quick tonight since Isaac came back from the grocery store at the same time I got home myself.

These calzone rolls were delicious and really easy to make.

Hands-On Time: 10min

Cook Time: 20min 

Ready In: 30min

Yield: 6-8

Cost: $8 + marinara we already had

Ingredients:

• 1 Pillsbury Crescent Roll
• 1/3 pound sliced ham (got the kind from the deli, it was so fresh and flavorful)
• 1/4 pound sliced hard salami (also got it sliced fresh at the deli) 
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup jarred marinara sauce

Directions

1. Roll out dough rectangle about 8 inches by 12 inches.
2. Layer ham and salami down the center.
3. Top meats with 1 cup shredded mozzarella for each roll.
4. Fold short ends of each loaf in about 1/2 inch and seal. Roll from the long sides and pinch well to seal the entire loaf.
5. Bake, seam side down on a greased baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cut roll into 8 slices and serve with marinara for dipping.

So there ya go! Simple, quick, inexpensive, and delicious :o) It is also really filling, we only ate about 2/3 of it for dinner so we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Source: http://family.go.com/food/pkg-family-approved-recipes/recipe-642631-easy-calzone-rolls-t/