When Life Hands You Tomatoes....

My dad brought us an incredible amount of tomatoes. 

Let me rephrase that, my dad brought us a ton of big 'ol tomatoes. I was bound and determined to move beyond my classic B.L.T. (heard of it?) and tackle these tomatoes head on in the most delicious ways. 

Big 'Ol Maters

Our tomato journey started on Sunday evening and as of Friday morning, we only have two tomatoes remaining. I call that a success! 

For most of the recipes, I snagged them from my fav-o-rite website, Skinnytaste. Gina (we are definitely on a first name basis at this point) always has the tastiest recipes. 

Here's what we've been eating all week!

On Sunday, we had Pesto-Parmesan Tomatoes to compliment our grilled steak. 

Pesto-Parmesan Baked Tomatoes via Skinnytaste

Over the weekend, my sister-in-law made a delicious batch of Pico de Gallo and I was hooked. One of our tomatoes this week was donated to the Pico de-cause and we have been snacking on Pico all week!

Pico de Gallo via Food Network, The Pioneer Woman

This dish was quite possibly my favorite! We have started incorporating more fish into our meal routine (BREAKING NEWS: I'm a salmon fan now!). On Monday, we had tilapia with a tomato and caper sauce. 

Broiled Tilapia with Tomato Caper Sauce via Skinnytaste

 We don't always have soup in the summer but when we do.... it's full of tomatoes! ;) On Tuesday, we had Tomato Bisque. My husband added some red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to give it a little more zing! 

Tomato Bisque via Skinnytaste

It's summer time, so lunch looks a little different for me these days. Yesterday, I enjoyed a lump crab salad and avocado. 

Avocado and Lump Crab Salad via Skinnytaste

It's truly been a delicious week. (There was one recipe that was a big 'ol flop, but I'll save that for another day!)

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Just when I thought I had run out of ideas for my tomato stash, a friend sent me this link from The Gracious Wife with 88 recipes for fresh tomatoes. Now... I need a few more tomatoes!

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What are your favorite tomato-based recipes? Share with me! 

For the Love of Quinoa!

I felt it was time to dive into the quinoa phenomenon since I've pinned hundreds of recipes already. Many of my Sunday evenings are spent enjoying a delicious bowl of soup, so this week my bf and I decided to make a little vegetable soup with quinoa. Thanks to this recipe found here. 

The recipe has all of your classic vegetable soup staples (and then some) to enjoy on a chilly evening. Naturally, we had to make a few modifications because I thought I had all of the ingredients. Soon enough, I found they were missing from my pantry. We also made this into a slow-cooker soup by letting the vegetables, spices, and broth cook all day then added the cooked quinoa at the very last minute. 

In addition to the soup, we also added a few other spices and whatnot (which means I don't have an exact measurement.. just go with it).

Frank's hot sauce
red wine

lime juice

minced garlic (more!)

After an afternoon of smelling vegetables simmer all day in the crock pot, I can assure you that this bowl of quinoa soup was enjoyed with the Golden Globes (and the playoffs!) playing in the background. 

Enjoy your evening, folks!

Channeling My Inner Girl Scout

What's your favorite kind of Girl Scout cookie?

Mine is definitely the classic shortbread cookie. There's something about those tasty treats that make my heart melt. A cookie that comes in a close second is the Samoas! They're a perfect blend of chocolate, coconut, and carmel. Yum yum in my tum.

While browsing Pinterest, I stumbled across a recipe for Homemade Girl Scout Cookies and knew I had to make them. I put on my apron and began measuring away. Needless to say, things got a little messy...

post lake swim

After having an audience while I whipped up these bars, I realized I have more similarities to the Swedish Chef that I originally thought. 

Back to the baking!

what your bars should look like...

With my two friends, Emily and Jolyn, at my side... I began this adventure. Let me just say, this was a multi-step process. Not as "quick" and "easy" as I anticipated. 

With this particular recipe you have to make time to cook the cookie base (yum) and crisp your coconut. That's roughly 40 minutes after preparing the batter. Of course, I hadn't read the entire recipe before hand so I wasn't aware of this. I tell my students to read the directions all the time, you would think I would take my own advice!

After our cookie base had been blobbed with carmel and coconut, I used my trusty pizza cutter to make bars. Then, we began dipping the bars in chocolate. Emily and I both managed to burn our fingers on the piping hot chocolate. So let this be a warning to you... anything you put in the microwave GETS REALLY HOT. (In case you didn't know that already...)

The end product was delicious! I highly recommend this recipe, but if I were to do this again I would take Martha's advice and cook them her way. 

Martha's Chocolate Coconut Bars

Ingredients

• 3 cups finely ground cookies (12 ounces), such as graham crackers or chocolate wafers, or a combination
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup pecan pieces
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly splash a 15-by-10-inch rimmed baking sheet evenly with water, then line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until combined. Evenly press onto bottom and up sides of prepared baking sheet. Bake, rotating halfway through, until firm, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool, about 20 minutes.
3. Sprinkle cooled crust evenly with pecans and chocolate. Pour condensed milk over the top, spreading to cover completely (do not let it drip over the edges). Sprinkle with coconut.
4. Bake until coconut is toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Trim edges, if desired, and cut into equal-size bars.