Lynne's Kitchen

It may be safe to say that not everyone knows about kale, let alone what to do with it. But the good news is we can take the mind-boggling kale roughage and turn it into a pretty delicious and enjoyable snack. Welcome… kale chips!

I actually grew up with kale occasionally at the dinner table. I don’t remember it too much as it really was just ‘occasionally’ at the dinner table, but aside from it being a little bitter in taste, I loved my veggies so I ate it anyway. Now in my adult and parenting years and I can only hope that my kids will APPRECIATE veggies. I’m not asking for a mega-LOVE-fruit/veggie relationship from them (although I am 1-1 on kids who will chow down on fruits/veggies), but exposure will do.

This was a rather simple and tasteful snack to put together, especially when fresh out the oven!

Lynne’s Notes:

• It is definitely not a dish you can save for later snacking. The chips, when done, will be a mix of crispy and soft. The crispy bunch is exactly as it should be to resemble chips. The soft bunch resembled more like sauteed kale, still equally as good if you’re down with the wilted veggie version.
• I would probably do them in batches so I could align them in a single layer on the baking pan to ensure all leaves have an equal chance at getting crispy. And I’m just going to throw it out there that when I say crispy, I mean they are disintegrate-in-your-mouth crispy, similar to roasted seaweed! NOMZ!
• For easy prepping, kale is sold already washed and cut at Trader Joe’s. Had I known that, I would have just splurged the extra cents to just grab a bag. Now I know better. But hey, manual labor is also good too!
• It’s easy to over salt the chips. One subtle layer of salt will do as the lemon gives it much umph already.
• Also, I’m a little impatient and bumped the oven temp up to 350° baking it around 10-15 minutes.

Family Verdict:

The boys and I could not keep our hands off it! Definitely looking forward to our next batch of these. With it’s simplicity, I just might make this weekly!

Recommended:

Heck-to-the-YES!

Kale Chips
Printer-Friendly Version
yield = 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (or cooking fat, melted)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350ᐤF and line baking pan with parchment paper.
• Thoroughly wash kale, drain, and pat dry.
• Cut off stems and cut leaves into sizes equivalent to chips.
• Place the cut kale leaves into a bowl and massage olive oil (or melted cooking fat) and lemon juice into the leaves to ensure even coverage.
• Place kale in a single layer on baking pan. (You may have to do more than one batch).  And season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Place baking pan in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the chips to make sure that leaves are not getting overcooked. Some may still come out soft, but it will taste just as good!

Source: Minimally adapted from Paleo Diet Lifestyle.

Ever since our visit to Disneyland in August 2010, stuffed french toast has been on my mind and only now have I decided to do some research and bring that memory to our breakfast table. I got motivation for the dish when I started to make french toast for the boys the day before dishing this out. Staring at the strawberries in our fridge, the vision and opportunity couldn’t have been any clearer — I’ll stuff the french toast with strawberries! This thought immediately sent my mouth drooling and my fingers scouring the Internet for a recipe. Upon finding a recipe with ingredients I knew I had, my will to be patient was tested because my marscarpone cheese was expired. “NNNOOOOO!” I mentally exclaimed, worried that my stomach wouldn’t understand (you can tell how much I was looking forward to having this for breakfast!). Cream cheese would have been a decent substitute,… if I HAD any. But of course, last minute meals have their own probability of not working out so with enough convincing to myself and my stomach that a 24 hour wait wouldn’t hurt me, the boys and I moved forward that morning with regular french toast and syrup.

With groceries needed to be picked up that day, I triple made sure that marscarpone cheese was in our cart during checkout. Now that I had it, it was just a matter of time for breakfast to come around to have a reason to cook it!

Overall, it was well received from the family. My husband of course doused his share with maple syrup, but I felt it was plenty yummy without the maple overkill. The boys thoughts the same. Hope that this makes it to your breakfast table!

Lynne’s Notes:

• I didn’t get fancy with the french toast as some make it with thicker cuts of bread. I just used our regular sandwich bread. Good enough for me and the boys!
• My strawberries were pretty ripe, so I decided to cut the granulated and powdered sugar amounts in half (half amounts reflected in recipe). Still decently sweet in my opinion.
• The recipe suggests to let the strawberries chill for at least an hour; however, I did NOT have time for this. After slicing the strawberries and mixing them with sugar, I put them in a stainless steel bowl and let them soak up the extra sweetness in the fridge to get cool while I made everything else. I didn’t have an hour to spare and this worked just fine.
• Added the marscarpone/powdered sugar to the strawberry mix after all the french toast was made.

Family Verdict:

• Everyone took a liking to the combination. Mmmm….

Recommended:

• Everyone, in my opinion, should have stuffed french toast especially with strawberries!

Bon appetit,
Lynne

Strawberry Marscarpone Stuffed French Toast
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yield = 4 servings

Ingredients:
French Toast

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 7-8 slices of sandwich bread
• butter
• powdered sugar for dusting

Filling

• 2 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/8 cup sugar
• (1) 8-ounce container marscarpone cheese
• 1/8 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

• Wash, hull, and slice strawberries. Mix together with sugar into a stainless steel bowl and place in refrigerator until needed. If you have the time, 1 hour up to a day will meld the sweetness even moreso.
• Beat eggs together. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, buttermilk, and vanilla, beat to combine.
• Over medium heat, add enough butter to coat the surface of pan. Dip each side of bread into egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off, and add to buttered pan. Cook until underside is nicely browned. Using a spatula, flip bread over and repeat with other side. Add butter to the pan between each slice and repeat process continuing until all bread is cooked.
• In a medium bowl, combine marscarpone cheese and powdered sugar. Using a slotted spoon, add chilled strawberries to the bowl and mix gently to incorporate.
• Spread the filling between two slices (or cut one slice of bread in half for kids). Dust with powdered sugar.

Source: French toast, Lynne original. Filling adapted from Cooking Out Loud.

Wow! Take that Kraft!

I grew up on Mac ‘n Cheese and even exposed the tradition of Kraft Mac to my kids because for quick lunches before, nothing got easier than adding water to the noodles and throwing the bowl into the microwave and stirring in the cheese powder! Now, I’ll add that mac ‘n cheese is not an everyday type food for us and now that I actually think about it, I haven’t bought the boxes in about a year. Yes, there are shortcuts to most everyday meals but shortcuts also mean something is sacrificed. And in the case of the infamous Mac ‘n Cheese, it’s definitely taste!

I’ve been making this for the past 6 months and after the first go at it, I decided that for extra weight in the dish shredded chicken was the way to go. Served with a side of buttered peas and it really was a homerun!

Overall, a comforting food dish and a great spin on the blue box version. And when your love’s first bite response is “mmmm, good!” without hesitation, you know the recipe deserves to be marked with stars and filed with the other recipes to be made again.

My Notes:

• Added 1 chicken breast, boiled then shredded.
• Didn’t have cream on hand and used 2 cups of milk instead (all we have on hand is 2%).
• Brown rice flour was used for the flour in the recipe.
• For better cheese flavor, use sharp cheddar. Medium is fine, but may not be enough flavor for some. If you use medium cheddar, then cut the flour down to 3 tablespoons.
• Reviews on the recipe state that what makes the dish is investing the full time to stir the roux. I’ll admit I get a little impatient at standing and stirring for 10 minutes. I’ve cut the time short on some occasions and even walked away for a few seconds instead of constantly stirring, and the roux still turned out fine. In regards to the latter, the roux should never be left unattended for a long amount of time as the mixture thickens, will stick to the bottom of the pot, and easily burn.

Family Verdict:

• Clean plates. Enough said.

Recommended:

• Yes! I’ve served this to other kids as well and it’s been well received and liked, even those who are picky eaters!

Bon appetit,
Lynne

Homemade Chicken Mac ‘n Cheese
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Yield = 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast, boiled and shredded
• 1 (8 ounce) package macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded good quality
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, buttered

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cook macaroni until al dente and drain; set aside.
• In a large saucepan melt butter. Whisk flour into melted butter adding salt and pepper, to taste. Make sure it’s well blended.
• Pour milk and cream in gradually while continuing to stir. Increase heat to medium-high, bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).
• Reduce heat, continuing to stir for 10 minutes.
• Add shredded cheddar into mixture a little at a time and simmer or until cheese melts.
• Turn off flame.
• Add macaroni and shredded chicken to the pot the macaroni was cooked in. Mix to combine.
• Add cheese sauce to the macaroni and shredded chicken. Mix well until everything is coated.
• Butter a baking dish and transfer macaroni.
• Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Source: Adapted from Food.com

I’m always on the lookout for quick and easy recipes that will appeal to not just my husband and I, but most importantly my two boys. I think overall my husband is a little weirded out by hominy, which is corn processed to remove the hull and germ, but the boys and I enjoy it. For me, its subtle crunch reminds me of garbanzo beans which I am a definite fan of. The boys enjoy things like kidney beans, edamame, and black beans, so it wasn’t really a shock that they took a liking to hominy because of it’s similar bean-like texture and crunch.

Overall, a VERY easy dish to prepare and even though it doesn’t win the love of my love, I still am partial to having a fast and easy recipe that is enjoyed by my boys as full convincing recipes for them are hard to come by!

My Notes:

• Didn’t add the cilantro since my cilantro went bad. Dish was still okay without it.
• Used 3 chicken thighs with skin and bone and just stripped chicken thigh of skin and bone.
• Substituted the two different types of hominy with one 29 ounce can of white hominy instead. Could not locate yellow hominy at my grocery store and it made no difference taste-wise.

Family Verdict:

• 3 out of 4 took a liking. Wish it was a meal that won everyone’s heart. Will definitely save the recipe though because it’s a quick and easy meal and something that they boys ate without problems.

Recommended:

• Definitely, if you can tolerate beans with its texture and crunch, you might enjoy this, also.

Bon appetit,
Lynne

Chicken Posole
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Yield = 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano leaves
• salt
• 1-1/2  pounds boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) white hominy, drained
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) golden hominy, drained
• 1 can (4 ounces) diced green chilies
• fresh cilantro, minced (optional)

Directions:

• Over medium-high heat, combine the onion, olive oil, chili powder, and oregano in a 5- to 6- quart pan. Salt to taste. Cook until onions start to soften and the fragrance from the spices really cook through, 3-4 minutes.
• Add chicken, stirring often, until chicken is slightly browned. Add broth, hominy, and the chilies bringing them to a boil over high heat. Then reduce and simmer until chicken is no longer pink in center, 5 minutes.
• Spoon into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.

Source: Weekly Safeway recipe guide

If there’s one thing that I find myself cooking a lot of, it’s chicken. And chicken piccata was a new up-do for chicken on our menu. Meddled with chicken stock, lemon juice, and capers, this dish has that unique balance between ingredients. A bit of tartness from the lemon, some saltines from the capers… just delish.

Now, the family and I are fairly new to capers having only truly tried them within a year’s time but their bite reminds me a bit of green olives. According to Wikipedia, capers are grown from the caper bush and often used in Mediterranean dishes to season or garnish dishes with their salty and pickled flavor. But we all know that with today’s cuisine options, most ingredients are hardly exclusive to any particular meal.

But as with any new ingredient or spin-off on a dish, my thoughts lead me to think of the response from The Particular-4-year-old and The Willing-2-year-old. Will it be face cringing? Subtly accepted? Oddly enough, The Willing-2-year-old happily ate the capers without problems. He is the one with a more open-minded palate than my Particular-4-year-old. He was even asking to eat the rest of our capers, lol. The Particular-4-year-old, skeptical at first, didn’t guzzle all the capers, but has showed improvement with acceptance of these little round buds after time.

Overall, this is a wonderful meal and definitely worth sharing and easy to make!

My Notes:

• Used brown rice powder instead of all-purpose flour for dredging.
• Didn’t have any parsley on hand. Not a dish breaker move.

Family Verdict:

Even though the capers were questionable from my eldest, the overall flavor of the meal was not compromised at all. Everyone appreciated the new take on chicken and we will definitely be making this again!

Recommended:

Yes!

Bon appetit,
Lynne

Chicken Piccata
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Yield = 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
• Sea salt
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

• Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
• In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.
• Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning.
• Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously.
• Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Source: Food Network

Breakfast… the meal of the day you’re supposed to go big on. I’ll be honest and say that in our home, that’s not always the case, at least not everyday. I know I’m always still half asleep that a quick breakfast seems more appealing (Lego my Eggo!). After having to brush kid’s teeth, change diapers, fix beds,… I’m less energetic to go all out for breakfast after rolling out of bed to do all that, lol. But when a fun breakfast is in order, this is one of the recipes I turn to.

Who doesn’t love anything with chocolate in it? Well, me actually. Chocolate is craving-based for me and not a catch-all void filler. Weird, huh? So I should rephrase that. What kid doesn’t love anything with chocolate in it? I know my boys are all about chocolate. The second they know we’re having chocolate pancakes, they flock to the kitchen dragging their chairs from the table so they can “help”… with edible rewards, hah. It’s cute. I love that they want to be in the kitchen with me.

Since I didn’t want to invest the time to make the pancake mix from scratch, this recipe was perfect because it incorporates the use of a ready-made pancake mix which I already had on hand. Not only was the base a time saver, it had a variation of both ingredients that I wanted to add: cinnamon and chocolate. It was perfect.

My Notes:

• Very good! Recipe followed to the T.

Family Verdict:

It’s a morning favorite. And so easily adaptable to incorporate other flavors.

Recommended:

Yes-ir-eee!

Bon appetit,
Lynne

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Pancakes
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Yield = 4 (3-pancake) servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pancake mix
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions:

• Stir pancake mix and cinnamon in large bowl until well blended. Stir in eggs, milk, oil and vanilla just until blended.
• Pour 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto preheated lightly greased griddle or skillet. Cook 1 to 2 minutes per side or until golden brown, turning when pancakes begin to bubble. Serve pancakes with Spiced Syrup (recipe follows), if desired.

Tip:

• Spiced Syrup: Mix 1 cup pancake syrup, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice in microwavable bowl or measuring cup. Microwave on HIGH 1 to 2 minutes or until warm, stirring once.

Flavor Variations:

• Blueberry Pancakes: Prepare batter as directed, stirring in 1 cup blueberries.
• Pecan & Pumpkin Spice Pancakes: Prepare batter as directed, using McCormick® Pumpkin Pie Spice in place of the ground cinnamon and adding 1 cup chopped pecans.

Source: McCormick

Chipotle and lime are a spicy, refreshing combination that adds heat and zing to any meal. My initial concern with this recipe was the chipotle since I was trying to keep it kid-friendly. Children’s taste buds are extremely sensitive to things like spices and citruses, and with The Particular-4-year-old whose eyes seem to be more reliant on how he feels about a dish than actually trying it, I couldn’t blow my chance on messing this up. If I did, that meant his stomach would be hungry longer because I would have to make another meal to compensate for it.

I reserved one salmon fillet for both boys to share and decided to sprinkle the spice mixture mildly on their portion. And by mildly I mean it was enough to add flavor and color, but not nearly enough to require water hoses next to their plates at the dinner table.

My Notes:

• Followed recipe as written for the oven temperature but once oven temperature was turned down to 275° from 500°, the fish was still pretty pink for my personal liking at the 12 minute mark. I gave it another 5 minutes and the fish was still not cooking properly, so I increased the oven temperature to 375° for the remainder of the time. Next time I will just cook the salmon at 375° instead.
• Placed chipotle and salt in a small dish and sprinkled on fish according to how much heat was needed. (Not so much for me, hah.)
• Simple to make and definitely a quick main meal.

Family Verdict:

Everyone finished their dinner and no fish was left for leftovers! So,… we like.

Recommended:

If you can tolerate a little heat, then YES! The nice thing with this recipe is you can add as much heat with the chipotle mixture as you want. For kids, a light sprinkling across the fillet is doable. A pinch here, a pinch there but don’t overdo it. Not a fan of heat like me but want a little more flavor? An even sprinkled layer across the fillet will work. For more iron mouths, sprinkle to your hearts desire!

Bon apetit,
Lynne

Chipotle Lime Salmon
Printer-Friendly Version
Yield = 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb salmon, cut into 4 fillets
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 limes, sliced in half
• 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Rinse salmon, pat dry and place on a metal baking sheet.
• Combine chipotle powder and salt in a small dish
• Rub each fillet with olive oil.
• Squeeze the juice from one-half lime onto each fillet.
• Sprinkle fillets with salt and chipotle, then place a half lime on top of each fillet.
• Place salmon in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on how well done you like your fish.

Source: Elana’s Pantry

Yummy, yummy, YUMMY!! That’s all my notes say on this recipe, lol.

I honestly have never ordered chicken cacciatore at a restaurant before. When I see it on a restaurant menu, it looks so fancy that I’m then caught in the middle of two choices: ordering something that I already know and like, or living on the edge and trying something new and hoping that I like it. More times than not, I’ve conformed to my comfort zone reassured myself I’d be braver next time. What a mind game!

But after having made this dish at home on my dime, it is just… WOW! Giada is a favorite master chef of mine and with this recipe being upheld to five stars with over 600+ reviews, I knew the odds of this being acceptable to the family were heavily in favor.

My Notes:

• Substituted brown rice flour for all-purpose flour during dredging.
• Used all chicken thighs.

Family Verdict:

The Willing-2-year-old LOVES the capers. One thing you would NOT expect little kids to like, but my little man does. Both boys ate their chicken although The Particular-4-year-old sorted through the tomatoes making somewhat of a tomato bunker around the edges of his plate. We are working on “trying everything as least once” so in time I suspect that tomatoes will find its way into acceptance. As for The Student Husband, it was no surprise that he cleaned his plate – if you know my husband, when does he not! But all in all a wonderful recipe. Will be making again!

Recommended:

ABSOLUTELY!

Bon apetit,
Lynne

Chicken Cacciatore
Printer-Friendly Version
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs
• 2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons drained capers
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions:

• Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.
• In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
• Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano.
• Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.
• Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

Source: Food Network

Tomatoes and basil are my two most favorite ingredients when paired together. Especially when fresh like in bruschetta (not to mention the extra essence from fresh garlic!) the taste is so crisp and refreshing. The combination of the ingredients went well over cracked sourdough bread and really brought an authentic taste of Italy to the comfort of our home.

I think I’ve mentioned before that The Spirited 4-year-old is not a fan of vegetables and fruits. If it’s green, he runs – we can probably stick all vegetables into this section. If it’s fruit, he hides. This lovely side dish is sadly no exception to the rule. The Willing 2-year-old on the other hand is very much opposite. He was very open to trying this. The only problem he had was keeping the bruschetta on the bread.

You can see why the bruschetta didn’t stay on too well. It’s not a very good “angle” food.

My Notes:

• I used Roma tomatoes because that is what I always buy.
• Used Cracked Sourdough Bread from Trader Joes.

Family Verdict:

This was approved by The Student Husband and partial approval from The Willing 2-year-old and The Particular 4-year-old. This was a really great side dish and definitely a recipe I will keep on hand. Good thing is the kids love the bread toasted with olive oil so if anything, there is an acceptable modification to this dish.

Recommended:

Yes. If you have a “particular” child, my suggestion is to keep some slices of bread un-bruschetta’d.

Bon appetit,
Lynne

Tomato Basil Bruschetta
Printer-Friendly Version
Yield = 6-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 or 7 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped.
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

• Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the stem area. Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and there are fewer seeds and less juice.
• Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
• While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
• Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice. This is the more traditional method of making bruschetta.
• Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Source: Simple Recipes

I’ve been meaning to make this for a long time now. Its one of those side dishes that you know is easy, but can only be prepared with a complementary entree. I’m a fan of brown rice and have been switched now for a few months so I decided to make a brown rice version of it. This can easily be made with white rice, just substitute it. It’s the perfect side dish to compliment rotisserie style chicken.

My Notes:

• I omitted the salt, my own personal preference.
• My brown rice is not long grain, but it still worked out just fine.

Family Verdict:

This was not a winner between the kids. The tartness of the limes wasn’t overpowering, but enough to turn off the small taste buds of the boys. Hubbo, on the other hand, gave his approval.

Recommended:

For families that would like to try this , I would advise leaving some untouched rice for the kids just in case its not to their liking. But other than that, I do recommend giving this a shot!

Bon appetit,
Lynne

Cilantro Lime Rice
Printer-Friendly Version
Yield = 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of hot cooked rice (long grain recommended, since it does not come out mushy)
• 2 small limes (or 1 large lime)
• 1 lime, zest of (all of one lime)
• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Directions:

• Once your rice is cooked fluff with fork.
• Add lime juice, zest, cilantro and salt.
• Stir well.
• Serve warm.
• Enjoy.

Source: adapted from RecipeZaar