Thursday, July 31, 2014

Tomato Tea Sandwiches (Throwback Thursday)

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2011 Photo
Today is day 4 of Tomato Week and it's also Throwback Thursday.  I was excited to redo my tomato sandwiches because not only are they delicious, I disliked my old photos a lot.  These sandwiches were a hit with everyone and they enjoyed them with some Cucumber Tea Sandwiches.




 
Ingredients:
1-2 large "beefy" tomatoes
salt and pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup chive cream cheese (see note)
2-3 Tbs of butter or margarine
2 tsp of vinegar (optional- see note)
1 pound of sandwich bread (see note)


Notes:
  1. Chive flavored cream cheese is a key ingredient to my cucumber sandwiches.  If you cannot find this, you can try to make your own by mixing plain cream cheese with 1/2 tsp of onion powder and 2Tbs of minced fresh chives.  I also like the texture of the "whipped cream cheese because it spreads much easier on the bread.
  2. I recommend sandwich bread for these Tea Sandwiches. They are sliced thinner and tend to be softer than regular bread.  I also recommend white bread because the flavor is mild it allows the tomato and the spread to take center stage.
  3. Season tomatoes with salt, black pepper and vinegar.
Directions:
Mix the chive cream cheese, butter/margarine and some extra pepper for the spread.  You want the ingredients to be soft, but still solid.  I suggest you keep the ingredients cool so it allows the spread to be applied easily, but doesn't melt onto the bread .

Season tomatoes with salt and black pepper.  I also like to use a little vinegar to give the tomatoes some extra "zing", but this is optional.

Apply the spread on each slice of bread.  Then cover one slice of bread with a layer of tomato (try not to get too much liquid with the tomato).  Top with the other slice of bread.  To keep bread from drying out you can cover it with a damp paper towel. Enjoy.



Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Spicy Roasted Tomatillo and Tomato Salsa

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Here is Day 3 of Tomato Week.  I decided to pair the tomato with a fruit that sounds a lot like a tomato called tomatillo.  These tart little green fruits come with a papery skin that needs to be peeled off before you can use it.




 




 I decided to roast all the vegetables and only added a little salt and cumin to the final dish.  This means all you get here is the roasted vegetables and all their glory.  We ate this salsa with tacos and woooohoo.. they were spicy because I added a lot of serrano chilies.  They were some of the best tacos I have ever eaten.

 
   Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs cleaned tomatillos (quartered)
1lb sweet tomatoes (I picked yellow)
4-8 serrano chilies (to taste)
6-10 cloves of garlic (depending on size)
1 medium onion cut into chunks
salt and black pepper to taste
2-3Tbs canola oil
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2-3 Tbs water
salt to taste

 

 Directions:
Prep vegetables for roasting.
Roast in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour.
Place all roasted vegetables, cumin and  water into food processor.  Blend to your desired texture.. either chunky or smooth.  Add salt to taste.  If you like you can add some lime juice as well.   Serve at room temperature or chilled with chips or on tacos.  Enjoy. 

 


 

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Tomato Basil Salad with Balsamic Drizzle

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It's Day 2 of Tomato Week.    I really did not plan on doing a whole week of tomato dishes, but then I got this bounty of tomatoes from the grocery store so I had to think of ways to use them up and really enjoy them.  Today's salad is so simple to put together.  You can eat it as a side salad, on top of fish or chicken or even on top of crusty garlic bread (similar to bruschetta  ).   I used three types of tomatoes in the dish (yellow, heirloom and roma red).  Of course it would be just as delicious with simple red tomatoes or grape tomatoes that have been cut in half.


Ingredients:
2lbs of ripe tomatoes cut into chunks
small handful of basil torn
salt and black pepper ( to taste)


 Balsamic Drizzle
1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbs of brown sugar (substitute splenda for low carb)

Directions:
To make the Balsamic Drizzle: In a saucepan simmer the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes until it is thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.  Then wash and cut tomatoes.  Season tomatoes with salt and black pepper to taste.  Place tomatoes on platter or bowl and tear basil leaves on top.  Then drizzle with as much balsamic drizzle as you like.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.   I like to let the tomatoes sit for about 1 hour to develop and absorb more flavor. 

 


Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Avocado BLT Sandwich

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I'm patiently waiting for the tomatoes that I planted to turn red so I can eat them.  Then, I went to the grocery store and saw all these beautiful tomatoes for a total of $5 so I had to get them.  I knew one of the first things I would make with them would be a BLT (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich).  I saw the avocados near the tomatoes and decided to try to add something instead of mayonnaise on the sandwich for some creaminess.   This was an amazing sandwich and avocado will be a must on my next BLT... or BLat!  If you haven't tried an avocado on your BLT before... it's time to try it. 


Ingredients:
2-3 slices of baked bacon per sandwich
3-4 slices of tomatoes
Sliced ripe avocado
lettuce
Toasted bread

Directions:
The easiest way to make bacon is to bake it in the oven.  You will get perfectly crispy bacon every time.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  You will need a baking tray and some cooling racks placed on top of it or you can use your broiler pan that is slotted
Yummy BACON!!
with a drip pan.  Lay your bacon across the cooling racks.  Place them in the oven for 15 minutes or until the bacon is fully cooked and ready to crumble.  The bacon will be crispy, perfectly straight and all the oil will have dripped to the lower tray.  I love this method. 


Then slice tomatoes and season them with a little salt and pepper.  Slice avocado and squeeze some lime juice on them to keep them from browning.  Toast bread.  Assemble with lettuce on the bottom, then tomato slices, bacon and finally the avocado.  Enjoy.








Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Curry and Comfort's Weekly Sunday Summary 7/21/14 thru 7/27/14

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 Happy Sunday Everyone!


Hot Dog Week

So how did you enjoy Hot Dog Week?  I had fun making all these simple and easy hot dog ingredient dishes.  The great thing about hot dogs is you can customize it to your lifestyle... they have great beef, chicken and even tofu hot dogs.  So most of these recipes can work for  your specific meat or non-meat preferences. 

 Summer is on the way out...
I can't believe that at the end of this coming week we will enter into the month of August.  August brings all the back to school craziness.  How do kids grow up so much during 2 months of summer holidays that they need a whole new wardrobe?  New shoes...      It doesn't even make sense anymore to buy larger sizes of clothing/shoes when they are on sale because my daughter's feet grew two sizes and skipped all the "next size" shoes I bought her.  Now I'm off to buy more new shoes.  

At least there is one thing that never goes out of style or size... FOOD!

Here is my week in review:

 


Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Sriracha Hot Dogs with Banh Mi Pickles

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Today is the last day of Hot Dog Week.  So of course I had to end it with something a little spicy and extra delicious.  I love sriracha sauce and I add it everywhere I can.  I also love different types of pickles and Vietnamese Banh Mi style pickles are not only delicious they are pretty too.  These were the perfect hot dogs to end the week. 



Ingredients:
Favorite hot dogs
Hot dog buns
sriracha sauce
mustard

Banh Mi Pickles:
1 cup vinegar (white, cider or red wine)
1/4 cup sugar (or splenda for low carb version)
salt to taste (about 1 tsp)
1 medium onion thinly sliced red, white or yellow onions
1/2 cup carrots cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup cucumbers cut into matchsticks (English cucumbers work best)

Directions: Bring vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil 1-2 minutes.  Place sliced onions, cucumbers and carrots in a bowl and pour the boiled pickling liquid over them .  Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes  on the counter.  Make sure all the vegetables  are touching the liquid (you may have to toss it a few times with a fork).  Once vegetables are pickled, keep refrigerated until needed.



Directions for Hot Dogs:
Heat a pan with 2 Tbs of water and cook the hot dogs. All the water should cook out.. or drain as needed.  Then add 1 tsp of oil and start to brown them.  Next add the sriracha sauce and cook them for another 1 minutes and brown them a little more.







Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Lollipop Corn Dogs (Throwback Thursday)

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2011 photo
Today's recipe is Lollipop Corn Dogs. To tell you the truth,
this is uncharted territory for me. I think I have only eaten a corn dog once before at a fair.  My kids have never eaten corn dogs and I have been promising them that I would try to make some for them for for a while now. I finally decided to go for it today and I was happily surprised because they were so very easy to make. I had it in my mind they would be this arduous task, but I was done in the kitchen in 20 minutes. Then it was a corn dog feeding frenzy for my kids with my husband leading the charge. : )











Ingredients:
1 cup of Bisquick Mix
2/3 cup Corn Meal
1 and 1/3 cup butter milk
1 egg
1 tsp Lawry's seasoning salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 package of hot dogs (contains 8)
flour (for dusting)
oil for deep frying

Note: if you do not have Bisquick, any pre-made pancake batter will do or you can make your own pancake batter.

Directions: 
Cut your hot dogs into thirds (this will give you 24 lollipops).  Mix together the Bisquick, corn meal, and seasoning.    Then add your egg and buttermilk. Mix well. The consistency should be like a thick pancake batter.
Next coat your cut hot dog with flour.  this helps the batter stick to the hot dog.   Then poke a wooden skewer through the hot dog like a lollipop






 
Dip in the batter and coat well.
Place the corn dog into the hot oil (around 350 degrees).  Fry until golden brown.  Then place on a paper towel to dry.  Eat with mustard or favorite condiment.  Enjoy.




Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.