Tag Archives: easy

World’s Easiest Tomato Soup

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My next door neighbor grows organic produce in a green house next door. Seeds from one of his plants must have made it over to my side of the fence because a tomato plant appeared on the side of my house growing next to the electrical meter.

 

My wild tomato plant!

My wild tomato plant!

It was so interesting to me because I never planted it, never watered it, it’s not an area where there’s even a lot of dirt – and yet, it persisted. I let it go to see how large it would get. I ended up with more Cherry Tomatoes than I knew what to do with. Life is full of wonderful surprises!

 

 

 

Wild Urban Tomatoes

Wild Urban Tomatoes

So, what to do with all of these Cherry Tomatoes? Even though it’s Summer here at the beach, it rained quite a bit this month of August. It actually poured a few nights with thunder and dangerous lightening. So soup works – even in the Summer. This recipe is so easy.

 

  • Tomatoes (Cherry or other cut in 1/2 or 1/4s)
  • Filtered water (cover the tomatoes)
  • 1 Clove Garlic
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

 

When life gives you tomatoes...

When life gives you tomatoes…

Put all ingredients in a pot and cover with water.

 

Simmer for several hours adding more water as needed.

 

Add fresh basil if you’d like after cooking. Or, you can also add a pinch of dried Oregano. Some people add bread to thicken the soup. But you can add nothing at all. 

 

I love my little "handblender".

I love my little “handblender”.

Blend to smooth.

 

If your tomatoes have many seeds as mine did, you will need to strain after blending. 

 

My daughter likes me to stir in a little cream or half and half to give the soup a little creamy flavor. 

 

Put in bowls and enjoy! Or, if you’re throwing a party, soup in shot glasses is a great appetizer option when carried around on trays and passed out to your guests. 

 

Mexican Enchiladas with Red “Rojo” Sauce

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Ever since Maria shared her enchilada sauce recipe with me, I make it often. I don’t always “roll” the tortillas but often just layer the tortillas like lasagna noodles with the chicken, sauce, onion and cheese. That particular “like lasagna”  method will save you alot of time. And if you purchase the cheese already shredded and use leftover roasted chicken, it is a dinner you can heat up and have on the table in minutes. With the sauce recipe I listed here, I made 16 enchiladas rolled in two small dishes. I poached two chicken breasts and used all of the meat (about 2 cups). And about 1 15 ounce bag of shredded cheese.

 

  • Corn tortillas
  • Shredded Jack Cheese or Queso Ranchera Cheese
  • 1 Onion, chopped fine OR 3 Green Onions chopped 
  • Cooked shredded chicken
  • Easy Enchilada Sauce

 

Cooked shredded chicken (store bought rotisserie chicken or leftover roasted chicken works well in this recipe. Otherwise, just poach some chicken pieces in salted water until done and pull the meat off the bones discarding the skin and grizzle or just poach skinless, boneless breasts and slice or shred ).

 

 

Corn tortillas are usually gluten-free.

Corn tortillas are usually gluten-free.

Using a tong, add some vegetable oil  to a pan. Heat each tortilla on each side in the oil and put aside on a plate.

 

 

Place some of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.

 

 

 

Layer Chicken, Cheese and Onions, then roll.

Layer Chicken, Cheese and Onions, then roll.

Dunk the tortilla in the sauce, fill with a little cheese, onion and chicken (I make mine with no chicken actually as I prefer plain cheese). Roll and place seam side down.

 

Roll the remaining tortillas up. Top with more sauce being sure to save some of the sauce for topping before serving.

Red Enchiladas, ready to heat and eat!

Red Enchiladas, ready to heat and eat!

 

 

Sprinkle more cheese on top. Heat until the cheese melts in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven. 

 

 

 

Authentic Mexican Red Enchilada Sauce

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My son has Celiac and cannot eat flour so I was really disappointed when I saw that my favorite “go to” canned red enchilada sauce was not gluten free because it contains wheat flour as well as some other ingredients with names I could not pronounce properly. But my problem was easily remedied when I asked Maria (someone I work with) for her enchilada sauce recipe and of course, what a bonus that it was so easy to make! She only adds garlic and water, I added onions and spices. Now I make enchiladas from scratch at home all the time and they are far less expensive than buying them  “to go ” from any of the local neighborgood Mexican restaurants! While the sauce recipe calls for dried Guajillos which Maria said are the best to use, I love Ancho Chilis and you can combine the two. Or, you can experiment with other types of chilis, all of which are really inexpensive – another bonus!

 

Dried Guajillo or Ancho Chilis are the main ingredient in Red Enchilada Sauce.

Dried Guajillo or Ancho Chilis are the main ingredient in Red Enchilada Sauce.

To make the sauce:

 

  • 10 (or so, what is in one small package) Dried Guajillo Chilies (I purchase them at a Mexican market or my local Fresh n Easy market carries them which is so convenient).
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion sliced or chopped
  • Small pot of water or broth
  • 1-2 Cloves Garlic
  • Pinch of Oregano 
  • Pinch of Cumin 
  • Cayenne if you want it spicier (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Remove the stems and some of the seeds from the Guajillos (or remove all the seeds if you do not want it spicy).

 

Simmer chilis until soft. Then add spices.

Simmer chilis until soft. Then add spices.

Add the chilis, onions and the garlic to the pot and add enough water to cover the chilis well.

 

Bring to a simmer and simmer the until the chilis are soft and bend easily. 

 

Drain first. Then blend. Add fresh water back in as needed.

Drain first. Then blend. Add fresh water back in as needed.

Drain about half the water out from the pot and then place the chilis with the garlic, onion and spices in a blender. Blend. Add fresh water back in to thin the sauce as you prefer. 

 

 

 

Scrape Sauce through Strainer with a spoon.

Scrape Sauce through Strainer with a spoon.

Strain through a strainer over a larger, clean container. (Scrape the sauce back and forth with a spoon until the sauce drips through.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished Enchilada Sauce.

Finished Enchilada Sauce.

The enchilada sauce will now be very smooth and ready to pour over chicken or to use in any traditional red enchilada recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hong Kong Milk Tea

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Iced tea is one of my favorite homemade beverages to make and keep in the fridge. Not only is it as easy as boiling water (and adding and removing the tea bags ) but its also an amazingly inexpensive alternative to other store-bought beverages and therefore

Sweet and luscious. Easy Hong Kong Milk Tea.

Sweet and luscious. Easy Hong Kong Milk Tea.

extremely budget-friendly. Snapple-like mixtures are easy to recreate by adding lemon, berries, mint, cucumber or other fun additions from the garden.  

 

Instead of adding sugar, you can add any sweetener you like such as honey, agave, Stevia or even no sweetener at all so it’s also easy to make your own “diet” iced tea blends. Use Almond Milk if you are a Vegan.

 

This tea is my daughter’s favorite and like all the recipes I share here, amazingly easy. Because I don’t really like the flavor of Green Tea but it has excellent health benefits, I sometimes add a Green Tea bag in with the Black Tea  which masks the flavor of the Green Tea completely. I also love making this tea with Earl Grey tea. 

 

  • 5 Black Tea bags
  • 1 Quart Water
  • 1 can of Condensed Milk (sweetened or unsweetened) or 1 C Cream or  1 1/2 Cups Half and Half or Milk, or 1 Cup Almond Milk 
  • 1/2 Cup Sugar (omit if you are using sweetened milk. You can also add any preferred sweetener).

 

Tear the paper tops off of the tea bags and place in a pot full of water.

 

Add the sugar or sweetener to allow it to melt into the water when heating.

 

Bring water to a boil, then turn off the flame and let the tea bags steep for 10 minutes or longer if you prefer until the color of the water is nice and brown.

 

Remove the tea bags, pour the tea into a pitcher, add the condensed milk or other milk. Mix, chill and enjoy with or without ice.