Tag: tomato


Jul
2013

Caprese Stuffed Burgers

categories: Recipes

Well Dined | Caprese Stuffed Burgers

Hello, Summer!  Juicy tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fresh basil, all stuffed inside a hearty burger – oh yeah, baby!

Well Dined | Caprese Stuffed Burgers

This is a fairly straightforward recipe, the key is in the setup – have all of your ingredients close by and ready to go.  Season your beef however you like (I put bacon in mine!) and form into thin patties; make an indentation in the center.

Well Dined | Caprese Stuffed Burgers

Load up with halved grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella bits, and ribbons of basil.

Well Dined | Caprese Stuffed Burgers

Place another thin patty on top and seal the edges to encase the filling.

Well Dined | Caprese Stuffed Burgers

Then grill as you normally would!

Inspired by Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom


Jul
2013

Mexican Style Quinoa Salad

categories: Recipes

Well Dined | Mexican Style Quinoa Salad

This vegetarian/vegan meal that I made with Melissa of Smells Like Brownies is perfect for summer.  It is light and fresh (but still filling), takes advantage of summer produce, and is packed with protein.

Well Dined | Mexican Style Quinoa Salad

All you have to do is combine the ingredients – corn, tomato, avocado, bell pepper, scallions, jalapeno, black beans, cooked quinoa.

Well Dined | Mexican Style Quinoa Salad

Then toss with a dressing of lime, olive oil, honey, and cumin.

Well Dined | Mexican Style Quinoa Salad

Top with some fresh cilantro (or parsley if you, like me, are not a fan) and your perfect summer lunch awaits!  You can serve it warm, cold, or room temp – doesn’t matter.  The ingredient list is also totally flexible, go with whatever ratio of quinoa to veg you like, take out the stuff you don’t like, add in something you do, make it yours. (more…)


May
2013

Fresh Homemade Pasta!

categories: Recipes

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I have been wanting to learn to make my own pasta for years, so I was super jealous when my friend Melissa (you know her by now) got a pasta roller for Christmas.  I had been thinking about getting the Kitchen Aid attachment (versus the hand crank kind) but it is very expensive and I had read reviews about them breaking and being hard to clean.  Melissa said that her manual roller was very easy to use, and invited me over to try it out / teach me how to use it.

Our first experiment was Spinach Ravioli with a Creamy Tomato and Veggie Sauce – yum!

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The first step is to make the filling.  Saute diced onion in butter, then add in frozen spinach (thawed and drained) to cook out any liquid.

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Add in ricotta, Parmesan, and an egg yolk. (more…)


May
2013

Grilled Halloumi & Quinoa Salad

categories: Recipes

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Halloumi is a salty, dense Greek cheese that is super amazing when grilled.  My friend Melissa, from Smells Like Brownies, is a big fan so she was pretty excited when I showed her this recipe.  Hearty quinoa mixed with lettuce and veggies and topped with warm cheese – delish!

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We didn’t end up having the cucumbers the original recipe called for, so we used tomatoes instead and they were great.  I do really like cucumbers, though, so I would say to use both.  The more veg, the better, right?  The dressing includes red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, mint, and scallion – yum!

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We also discovered (by oiling one side and not the other of an electric grill) that the cheese gets better grill marks when the grill is not oiled.  Don’t worry, though, it won’t stick!

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This is a very satisfying (and light!) vegetarian lunch that is sure to make even meat eaters happy. (more…)


May
2013

Moroccan Meat Pies and Afghan Pumpkin

categories: Recipes

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This post got lost and forgotten somewhere, so it’s not very seasonal and I apologize.  But you can look forward to making it next Fall.

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And you should look forward to it.  Sweet, caramelized pumpkin with spices, creamy yogurt, and tangy tomato sauce?  Yes, please.  This is one of my favorite Afghan dishes, called kadu bouranee.

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And these delicious Moroccan inspired meat pies made with phyllo, ground beef, and spices are the perfect main to complement the pumpkin.  You could also make the Afghan meat dumplings called mantu, of course, but they require a little bit more work. (more…)


Mar
2013

Amazing Slow Cooker Soup

categories: Recipes

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Here’s a simple one – 6 ingredients, 1 crockpot, 4 hours, 1 amazing and addictive soup.  So easy, so delicious and creamy, and pretty healthy if you use low-fat cream cheese and turkey sausage.  Try to get bulk sausage from your butcher, if you can.  The big name/pre-packaged stuff (Jimmy Dean, I’m looking at you) has high fructose corn syrup – yuck!  Jasper is not a big fan of soups, unfortunately – which means that I got to eat this every day for lunch for a week and never got sick of it.  In fact, I was still craving it after it was gone!

Creamy Tortellini Soup
You can thank Pinterest for this one. You need frozen tortellini to stand up to the long cooking time. If you can’t find it, reduce the cooking time by half for dried and even more for refrigerated. Also, if you are not using “Italian Style” tomatoes, you will need to add some spices.
adapted from Little Fellows
serves 4-6

1 lb ground sausage, preferably turkey
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese or neufchatel (less fat), I use cream cheese made from Greek yogurt which is as low fat as neufchatel but has more protein
1 (19oz) bag frozen cheese tortellini
1 bag fresh spinach (5 oz is common, but use as much as you want)
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian style diced tomatoes
4 cups low sodium chicken broth

Brown the sausage and put into the crockpot with the cream cheese. Stir around a bit to break up the cream cheese and get it to start melting (this will help prevent lumps). Add in the rest of the ingredients. Set temp to low and cook for 3-4 hours (check pasta texture at 3 hours).


Jan
2013

Ratatouille

categories: Recipes

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Ratatouille – a delicious french vegetable dish that is usually kind of like a stew.  I found a recipe from WendyinKK that was inspired by the more upscale version presented in the Disney film.  Beautifully sliced veggies layered in a casserole – this is so gorgeous and hearty.  It is time consuming though, so be prepared.

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Eggplant, bell pepper, roma tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini.  You will probably want to bust out the mandolin slicer for this one, unless your knife skills are really good.

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Such beautiful slices!  You will need to saute the eggplant and squash slices to release their moisture and enhance their flavor. (more…)


Jan
2013

Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Broccolini

categories: Recipes

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It’s time for another vegetarian lunch dish with Melissa from Smells Like Brownies!  Similar to our last lunch (post here) we went with quinoa and roasted butternut squash, but changed up the rest of the flavors.  This time we added in broccolini, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, and a delicious avocado cream.

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We started out by cooking the quinoa and roasting the squash, which should take about the same time.  We followed the directions and added the broccolini into the partially cooked quinoa to blanch, but it wasn’t really cooking, so we put the lid on to steam it which turned it brown.  Next time, I think I would blanch the broccolini in a separate pot from the quinoa. (more…)


Dec
2012

International Burgers

categories: Recipes

Just because it’s cold outside, doesn’t mean you can’t still make burgers.  And they don’t have to be the standard plain burgers, either.  Here are two recipes that put a bit of a twist on the classic burger.

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First up – a Middle Eastern inspired spiced lamb burger with a creamy yogurt sauce.

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To make the patties, combine bread crumbs, lamb, turkey, onion, an egg, parsley, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper.  Use a grill pan, griddle, or electric grill to cook the burgers.

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Make a sauce with yogurt, scallions, parsley, mint, oregano, lemon zest, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, sugar, and pepper.

Place the burgers inside pitas and stuff with fresh tomatoes and the yogurt sauce.

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For a Southwestern twist, we have Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers with Avocado Mayonnaise.

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To form the burgers, simply combine ground turkey, jarred salsa verde, breadcrumbs, and an egg.  Combine avocado, mayonnaise, and garlic to make a sauce.  Cook the burgers on a griddle (turkey falls apart too much to grill) and top with Pepperjack cheese and the sauce.  If they are in season – green tomatoes are also an excellent topper. (more…)