Make Ahead | I Can Cook That

Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup

Naturally, the day after I made my Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad in a Tomato Bowl pretending it was summer, the weather decided to do a 180 and veer into rainy cold sadness. Sigh. So what better way to use some of my Lipman Tomatoes than to make Creamy Tomato Soup? I found this recipe on Food Network and I had most of the ingredients already, win! I changed the recipe slightly for my tastes.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped

1 carrot, unpeeled and chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
12 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
3 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Croutons, for garnish

Heat a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil. Chop the onion and carrot.

Saute for 10 minutes.

While waiting for the onion and carrot to soften, mince the garlic and set it aside. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Chop the basil.

Add the garlic to the pot and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt and pepper to the pot.

Stir well and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

If you have an immersion blender, at this stage, use to puree the soup. If you don’t, remove half the mixture and add it to a blender. Blend until smooth; be sure to keep the center of the top off of the blender and cover with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining mixture. Return to the pot over medium-low heat.

The soup is honestly good to go at this point. Feel free to just stop here.

To make a creamy soup, add the cream to the soup and mix.

Serve with basil and croutons.

Oh my goodness. Not only is this super easy, but it is absolutely delicious.

Because the soup is made with so many fresh tomatoes, it’s important to use tomatoes at their peak.

This is a wonderfully thick soup so it’s a meal in itself, but rainy, cold days always make me want a favorite childhood staple:

Note: The original recipe used a food mill but I don’t have one. And I was not willing to peel the tomatoes so I blended them, and it worked out great. The soup ended up completely creamy.

Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad in a Tomato Bowl

We have been having such a warm spring in Philadelphia. So if the weather is going to pretend it is summer, I will as well! To me, summer means tomatoes, corn, pesto, pasta salad, and of course, grilling.

Before I go into this recipe for Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad in a Tomato Bowl, first I want to tell you about Lipman Tomatoes. Lipman Tomatoes, a business-to-business company that has been supplying tomatoes and other vegetables to grocery stores and restaurants for 70 years, is about to launch a consumer-focused brand and website. Lipman contacted me about developing a recipe to celebrate their launch, which is the perfect opportunity for me to give into my “summer fever”. I decided to make a Grilled Tomato Orzo Salad served in a Tomato Bowl. (Update: the site is now live! Check out my recipe here!)

Lipman sent me an awesome assortment of their tomatoes. I decided to use the grape tomatoes for grilling, and the Vintage Ripe (a beautiful heirloom tomato) as my tomato bowls. The assortment also came with some cherry tomatoes and plum tomatoes so expect me to be on quite the tomato kick in the coming days!

Ingredients:

4 large Vintage Ripe tomatoes

1 cup orzo

4 cups vegetable broth

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 corn on the cob (or 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed)

8 oz mozzarella balls (if you cant get marinated mozzarella balls, even better!)

1 cucumber, seeded and chopped

Mint, for garnish

For the pesto:

2 bunches fresh basil leaves (about 2 cups packed)

1/3 cup walnuts

3 garlic cloves, minced

the juice and zest of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup grated Parmiginao-Reggiano cheese

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

White Bean Hummus

Have you ever had a craving for something that you just can’t shake? Even after eating? I desperately wanted hummus. And even after filling up on delicious pizza I still wanted that hummus. But I don’t have any chickpeas in my place right now. (Note to self: stock up on cans of chickpeas so that I am never in this terrible situation again) So I went in search of a recipe for hummus that I could use something, anything else I happened to have on hand. White bean hummus to the rescue! (I found this recipe in Southern Living)

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons tahini
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoonpaprika, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup olive oil

Rinse and drain your cannellini beans.

Add all the ingredients except for the olive oil to a food processor and blend. You may need to stop the food processor one or two times to scrape the sides to make sure everything is evenly blended.

While the food processor is running, add an even stream of the olive oil until well blended. Add to a bowl and sprinkle with some paprika. Serve with pita chips, cucumber, or green peppers.

Due to my craving, I had none of these on hand. Junk. But I did have some of the Kitchen Table Bakers Rosemary Parmesan Crisps that went perfectly with the hummus!

Oh so satisfying.

Cannellini beans make one fantastic hummus, who knew?

The hummus was nice and creamy. And I loved the fresh rosemary!

I’d suggest adding some extra fresh chopped rosemary on top for added flavor. You can store this overnight or for a few days beforehand. I like to bring it with me as a snack at work.

Black Bean Mango Salsa on Jalapeno Parmesan Crisps

You can never have too many quick appetizers on hand. I am loving the Kitchen Table Makers Crisps. I already did one post on the Rosemary Parmesan Crisps, so it was time to get a little spicy. I used Kitchen Table Makers Jalapeno Parmesan Crisps and topped it with a yummy Black Bean Mango Salsa. The original recipe had jalapenos within the salsa, but after tasting the Crisps, I decided they had enough heat that the additional jalapeno might be too much. If you’re a huge spice fan, feel free to add a bit of chopped jalapeno to the salsa.

Ingredients:

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 firm, ripe mango, diced
1 tomato cored and chopped
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 of an onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
the juice of 2 limes plus zest
Salt, to taste
Jalapeno Crisps

Continue reading Black Bean Mango Salsa on Jalapeno Parmesan Crisps

Banana Berry Pecan Granola Bars

There are so many fantastic food bloggers out there. One food blog I regularly check is Cookin’ Canuck. Dara makes the most appealing looking recipes and her photos are always stunning. She has also cooked her way healthy and has a wonderful post about her journey. Dara has a great recipe for Low Fat Granola Bars with Bananas, Dried Cranberries, and Pecans that I just had to try. I switched it ever so slightly, but you can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup pecan pieces
3 ripe bananas
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons honey (to make vegan, substitute agave nectar)
3/4 cup dried berries (I used Trader Joe’s Golden Berry Blend)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 tbsp whole flax seeds
1/2 tsp salt

Artichoke, Spinach, and Feta Stuffed Shells

I have been making a bunch of freezer-friendly meals lately. You never know when you will come home and just be too exhausted to cook, and frozen meals can really save the night. This one also happens to be vegetarian. I found this recipe in an old Cooking Light. I absolutely love artichokes and spinach so I knew I’d like this!

Ingredients:

(makes 5 servings. serving size 4 shells)

1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped pepperoncini peppers (they come in a jar)
1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded provolone/mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup (4 ounces) fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (9-ounce) can artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
2 garlic cloves, minced
20 cooked jumbo shell pasta (about 8 ounces uncooked pasta)
Cooking spray

Cook the shell pasta according to directions on the box. Drain and set aside on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil so they don’t stick together. Take a 13×9 cooking dish and spray it with cooking spray.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Add the oregano, pepperoncini peppers, crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup provolone/mozzarella (I used “pizza” cheese) and the feta, cream cheese, black pepper, artichokes, spinach, and garlic.

To make it easier to fill the shells, add the mixture to a ziplock bag. Close the bag, and snip off one of the bottom corners.

Pipe the mixture into the shells. (Note: some of the artichokes might get stuck a bit while doing this so be careful you don’t end up with more mixture than you want coming out!) Add the stuffed shells to a 13×9 baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Spoon the tomato mixture over the shells.

Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese melts.

You can freeze them after stuffing the shells, freezing the tomato mixture separately and doing the last few steps later. I personally prefer frozen meals that can just be popped into the microwave or oven and the only additional step is that I have to consume the meal.

This is really an awesome recipe. I usually only have plain stuffed shells with tomato sauce and cheese so I liked the addition of the spinach and artichokes. The peppers added a little bit of pizazz to the dish without making them really spicy. (You can leave them out if you don’t want a little heat).

I did, however, crave a little bit of extra sauce (I love love sauce), so I’d suggest adding another can of puree to the mix. Past that, a good solid recipe!

Winter Lentil Soup

Philadelphia is about to have a full week of weather in the 70s. I think there’s even an 80 degree day thrown in In March! I’m so excited, but I feel a bit stressed because I didn’t get to make all of my winter soups and stews. But who says you need to eat these in freezing weather? So I decided to make this Winter Lentil Stew for lunches in my office when they crank up the AC and I feel like it’s winter.

Ingredients:

4 leeks, white and light green parts only
1 bunch kale (mine was huge, so I ended up using half)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained
6 cups water
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut
1/2 cup brown lentils
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Prepare all your ingredients. Slice each leek in half lengthwise and then slice into 1/4 inch thick half-moons. You want about 2 cups of half moons.

Add to a large bowl filled with cold water and swish to remove any grit. Drain and pay dry. Lay on a paper towel.

Remove the stems from the kale and then thinly slice the leaves. You want about 3 cups of leaves.

Peel and chop your sweet potatoes. You want them to be bite sized or smaller. Measure out the lentils, prepare your thyme leaves, and open your can of diced tomatoes.

Add a large saucepan to the stove over medium heat. Add the oil and heat. Add the leeks and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the water and bring to a boil.

Stir in the kale, sweet potatoes, lentils, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

If freezing, you can spoon into individual containers, let cool, and freeze at this point.

If enjoying immediately, eat as is, or sprinkle with some grated Parmesan cheese.

I can’t wait to enjoy this on my “colder” days in the office!

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

I love chili, and with the warm winter we’ve been having, I didn’t have nearly enough of it. So before spring is truly here, I wanted to make another batch. This meatless chili has so many different beans and flavor, you won’t even miss the meat! I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light, using more peppers, diced tomatoes instead of stewed, and a bit of vegetable broth to thin it out a little.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped orange bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth

To make, heat a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium- high heat. Add the olive oil. Add the onion, peppers and garlic.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the sugar, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Add the tomatoes, beans, and broth.

Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.

That’s it!

A delicious, hearty, meatless meal in 40 minutes.

Serve with corn bread if desired.

I love the colors in this! Look at all those different tones!

The chili looked a little too chunky without the vegetable broth, but if you like it that way, feel free to omit the broth.

Irish Potato Candy

I am Irish, on my father’s side. So, more appropriately, I’m Irish American (among other things). Even more specifically, I am Irish Philadelphian. (Yes, I may have made that phrase up. But there are a bunch of us so I think the phrase should exist.)

Now I’m sure you were very interested in what my heritage is, but there is a reason I’m telling you this. Philadelphia has this… candy? dessert? … we will go with “treat”… called an Irish Potato Candy.

Irish Potato Candy is a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and coconut rolled into a little ball and coated in cinnamon. So it ends up looking kind of like a potato, hence the name.

I’m under the impression Irish Potato Candy is essentially a Philadelphia-only thing. Friends from New York and D.C. both look at me like I’m crazy when I bring these up. But they are delicious and an integral part of every St. Patrick’s Day for me, so I needed to share them!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
2 cups sweetened coconut, lightly packed
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Salmon Croquettes with Lemon Tarragon Aioli

I am so excited to share this recipe with you. I loved it so much! I found this recipe from Saveur and knew I had to try it. This recipe is perfect for a Friday night meal, but I suggest making them ahead of time if you can. They need to be chilled for at least one hour so that they retain their shape when cooking.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white wine
3 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning, divided
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 1-lb. boneless salmon filet
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
4 scallions, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
Juice of 1 lemon
Canola oil for frying, or olive oil to pan fry

To make, add 4 cups water, wine, 2 tablespoons Old Bay, and 1 tablespoon salt in a large saute pan (make sure you have a top for the saute pan). Bring to a boil.

Add the salmon, skin side down.

Turn off the heat and cover the salmon. Let the salmon cook in the liquid for 10 minutes. Transfer the salmon to a plate skin side up and let cool. The salmon will not be fully cooked through.

Peel off the skin and discard. Break the salmon into small pieces and place in a bowl with the remaining Old Bay and salt as well as the bread crumbs, butter, scallions, eggs and lemon juice. Stir and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup to evenly size the croquettes, form the 1/3 cup mixtures into patties with your hands. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. (I ended up with 8 patties plus one little baby patty). Refrigerate for at least an hour (I refrigerated mine overnight).

You can fry the patties in canola oil in 1/2″ of oil at 325 degrees, but I decided to just pan fry mine in a little olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel to remove excess oil then serve.

Serve with a wedge of lemon and a lemon tarragon aioli. To make the aioli, add 1/2 cup mayo, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1 minced garlic clove, and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay in a food processor. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve.

I served three croquettes per person with 1 teaspoon aioli.

I loved the flavor of this so so much! The Old Bay comes through in the salmon croquette, and an extra squeeze of lemon on top brings this from good to great.

The aioli was really nice with it too! I had some tarragon in my fridge so I decided to make it and I was afraid tarragon wouldn’t go with the salmon. That wasn’t an issue at all; they worked great together!

This is a great quick night meal if you have the ability to plan ahead and prep the night before. If not, just make sure to give yourself a good 2-3 hours to make the whole thing which doesn’t make it very feasible for a weeknight.

Black and Tan Brownies

I mentioned these delicious brownies in my “A Taste of Ireland” post over the weekend. They were so yummy that I thought they deserved their own post. Also, because it’s technically two brownie recipes together, I thought step-by-step photos might prove helpful. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Tan Brownies:

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Cooking spray

Black Brownies:

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Guinness Stout
4 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Chilled Raspberry Shooters

I fell in love with this recipe for Chilled Raspberry Shooters initially just on the photo; they are so pretty! The original recipe from Taste of Home is actually more of a savory dish but one of the comments mentioned using vanilla yogurt instead of sour cream so I decided to take their suggestion. This take some preparation, so if you plan on using this to impress guests with a slightly different but amazing dessert, be sure to give yourself a few hours before the event.

Ingredients (makes 6):

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cranberry juice
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
3 pints plus 6 fresh raspberries, divided
2/3 cups french vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon whipped topping, divided

Continue reading Chilled Raspberry Shooters

Strawberries with Chocolate Cream

Valentines Day has come early to I Can Cook That! Ok, not really. I made them for a party recently, but they would be perfect for a Valentines Day dessert, or with your coffee in the morning! I found this recipe on Taste of Home. After reading the reviews, a few people suggested adding some powdered sugar to sweeten up the chocolate cream. I love anything sweet, so I took their suggestion!

Ingredients:

1-1/2 ounces dark chocolate, grated, divided

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup whipped topping

2 containers of fresh strawberries, halved

I used dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s. They come in 1.75 oz little bars so I used two of those 1.75 oz bars. Take the first bar and melt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl, add the cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar and whipped topping. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth.

Add the melted chocolate and beat until combined. Add the mixture to a plastic zip lock bag.

Cut off the lower corner and pipe onto the strawberries, with the cut side up.

Using a grater, grate the remaining chocolate over the strawberries.

These are really simple, and really tasty too!

I think the addition of the powdered sugar was a good idea. Fresh strawberries can be a bit tart, so it was nice to add some extra sweetness within the chocolate cream.

The cream cheese adds a nice smoothness to the chocolate cream. They are so pretty too, aren’t they?

You can make these ahead of time and then pop them in the refrigerator until needed.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

So I realized today that this post for Homemade Macaroni and Cheese is my 200th! How crazy is that? Okay, back to your regular programing… time for an awesome recipe for Homemade Macaroni and Cheese!

Winter weather really makes me crave comfort food. When it snows (like it did this weekend) my need for comfort food escalates.

I’ve been looking for any excuse to make another mac and cheese recipe, so I jumped at the chance to make it during the snow.

I originally printed out this recipe from Cooking Light, but I changed it so much to fit what I could find it’s barely recognizable. The overall method is basically the same though.

Ingredients:

1/2 an onion, diced
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 1/4 cups 1% low fat milk
1 box uncooked elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
4 ounces cubed sharp cheddar cheese
4ounces cubed gouda cheese
Panko breadcrumbs
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Fresh parsley, chopped

Continue reading Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Stuffed Peppers

I have been a part of a food swap for about 6 months now, and I am already running low on ideas. As I was frantically looking for an idea, I realized no one had made stuffed peppers yet, win! Stuffed peppers are a perfect, hearty meal for relatively little cost. They are pretty adaptable and can honestly be made with whatever you want. To make vegetarian, sub in beans or just omit the ground beef all together.

Ingredients (this makes 10 stuffed peppers)

10 peppers

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

3 onions

3 garlic cloves, minced

2.5 lbs ground beef

1 teaspoon Worcestershire

1 can diced tomatoes

½ teaspoon each of basil, oregano and parsley (dried)

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper, to taste

5 cups cooked rice

½ cup grated Parmesan

Cut off top of peppers, removing the seeds and membranes. Dice the edible parts of the tops of the peppers.

Add the whole peppers to a pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove from water and set aside.