If you like tart and tangy, savory and salty flavors, then this is a salad you’ll have to try! I made this Tomato Cucumber Salad with Feta when my friend Greg gave me some cucumbers from his garden. You can’t go wrong combining cucumbers with tomatoes, but when you add in some feta cheese and Kalamata olives, that really gives this salad a special zing!
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Soup is such a great thing to eat on a cold winter day. Like this Tomato Carrot Soup with Basil. Although, I have to admit, it’s also good in the summer made with fresh tomatoes. But during the winter you can use canned diced tomatoes and I think it tastes just as good.
I’ve been having lots of soup lately, because it is cold and because I’ve been getting over a nasty bout of bronchitis, which I had over most of the holidays. I was disappointed at not being able to post more holiday recipes, but just didn’t have much energy to cook or do much else!
So I thought this would be a good time to post a soup recipe–most people love a good bowl of soup in the winter and this is so good for you. It has a good variety of veggies in it–carrots, celery and onion–all blended to a smooth consistency. Garlic and basil also add to the flavor. It makes a great meal with some crusty bread. Or serve it before a main course for dinner.
TOMATO CARROT SOUP WITH BASIL by NancyC
Makes about 4 servings
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, shredded
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup water
- 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced (or 2 [14.5-ounce] cans diced tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 Tablespoons dried basil, crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
In large saucepan, cook carrots, celery, onion, and garlic, in olive oil, covered, over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add half of the tomatoes and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Transfer mixture, in 2 batches, to a blender or food processor and add 1/2 cup water to each batch. Cover and blend until smooth, then return mixture to saucepan.
Stir in the salt, half of the basil, and the remaining tomatoes. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining basil and balsamic vinegar and heat an additional 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
If you are a fan of tomato soup, you’ll want to try this sometime! I love trying out new versions of tomato soup. Do you have a favorite tomato soup recipe?
Sharing at Friday Features, Thursday Favorite Things, Full Plate Thursday, Inspire Me Monday, Happiness is Homemade, Meal Plan Monday.
It’s nice to have something simple and healthy to eat in the summer. Something a little lighter that doesn’t take too much effort so you can spend more of your time enjoying other fun summer things, especially since there’s not much of summer left!
This is a super-easy sandwich I love and if you have a garden and are growing your own tomatoes and cucumbers, it’s the perfect thing to use them in! All you need are half of an avocado, a little lemon juice, a slice of tomato and some cucumber slices…and a little dash of sea salt. It makes a great summer lunch if you like to eat light during the hot weather!
AVOCADO MASH WITH TOMATO AND CUCUMBER by NancyC
Makes 1 open-faced sandwich
- 1 slice of your favorite bread (I used a whole grain bread slice)
- 1/2 of a large avocado
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 6 cucumber slices (from a medium-size cucumber)
- 1 tomato slice (from a large tomato)
- dash of sea salt, if desired
In a small bowl, mash the avocado half with the lemon juice until creamy and spread evenly on the slice of bread. Over this, arrange 3 cucumber slices in a row on the upper top third of the bread slice. Cut the tomato slice in half and arrange the two halves next to each other in the middle third of the bread slice, slightly overlapping the cucumber slices. Arrange the last 3 cucumber slices in the bottom third area of the bread, slightly overlapping the tomato slices. Add a sprinkle of sea salt, if desired over the cucumber and tomato slices. Serve immediately.
When the weather gets hot and humid, I hate to turn my oven on. So I make lots of sandwiches and salads! What do you like making when it’s too hot to bake?
Sharing at Fiesta Friday, Weekend Potluck, Meal Plan Monday, Inspire Me Monday.
We all know tacos are made with ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa, and maybe some sour cream on top, right? Well, apparently there is a taco revolution going on, and the traditional taco has been 
reinvented for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I found all this out when I got a review copy of The Taco Revolution by Brandon Schulz. Now you can make Mac and Cheese Tacos, Reuben Tacos, Greek Tacos, Roasted Vegetable Tacos, Southwestern Omelet Tacos, Pepperoni Pizza Tacos…just about any kind of taco you can think of! The many colorful recipe photos in the book will make you crave tacos in the worst way! The recipes are simple and easy to put together, and you’ll find lots of great ideas for summertime meals.
I thought I’d try the Cheeseburger Taco–it’s been awhile since I’ve had a cheeseburger. But I used those veggie crumbles in place of ground beef, so for those of you on vegetarian diets, this tastes great with a meatless substitute. This taco also has cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and relish for a great cheeseburger taste!
CHEESEBURGER TACO from The Taco Revolution
Makes 6 tacos
- 1 pound ground beef (or substitute veggie crumbles for a vegetarian version)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided (I used a Fiesta/Mexican blend of shredded cheese)
- 1 1/2 cups torn lettuce (large pieces)
- 1 plum tomato, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup relish
- Additional shredded cheese, for topping
- Tortillas (I used 6″ multigrain tortillas)
Brown ground beef in a large pan over medium-high heat, about 8-10 minutes. Add cheese and cook 1 more minute, mixing constantly, until fully melted.
Top a tortilla with lettuce, tomato, and red onion, Add cheesy ground beef mixture and top with relish and a sprinkling of shredded cheese.
These tacos were a lot easier to eat and less messy than I thought they would be–after you put all the ingredients on your tortillas, you just fold them over and eat! I really liked this taco–I thought it tasted great and it was super easy to make! Do you make tacos often? Have you tried making any unique taco recipes?
Linked to Wow Us Wednesday, Thursday Favorite Things, Full Plate Thursday, Nifty Thrifty Sunday, Inspire Me Monday.
I like eating soup in the cooler weather–it’s great having a hot bowl of soup on a cold rainy or snowy day, isn’t it? I have several new soup recipes friends have given me that I’ll be trying out. Julie, who is a wonderful cook and baker, shared this tomato soup recipe with me from the August/September 2012 Issue of Healthy Cooking. It’s also posted at Taste of Home.
This is a wonderfully thick, creamy soup–and the great thing is, it doesn’t have any cream in it, unless you choose to drizzle it with some cream before serving. It’s the veggies and seasonings that make it thick and creamy, because you blend or process the soup before serving. In addition to tomatoes, this soup also has onion, olive oil, garlic, carrot, corn, sea salt, and basil in it, so it’s very healthy! It also has chicken stock, but you could use vegetable stock if you want to make this vegetarian.
The original recipe makes 20 servings, so I halved the recipe, since I didn’t need to make that much soup! Julie uses less onion when she makes this, so if you’re not crazy about onion, you can do that too. I actually used a little more onion and basil in my version. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Julie! 🙂
HEIRLOOM TOMATO SOUP slightly adapted from Healthy Cooking
Makes 10 servings (about 2 1/2 quarts)
- 1 medium sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 medium heirloom tomatoes, quartered (about 4 lbs.)
- 1 medium size carrot, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh corn (or use frozen corn, thawed)
- 1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 3/4 cups chicken broth (regular or reduced-sodium–or substitute vegetable broth)
- optional: 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream to drizzle for garnish
In a large stockpot, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, carrot, corn, basil, and salt. Stir in broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until tomatoes are softened, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.
In a food processor or blender, process soup in batches (to be safe, just fill your blender or processor about half full–if you overfill, the hot soup could overflow and possibly burn you). As you are processing the soup, you’ll need another bowl or container to put the processed soup in. When finished processing, return all the processed soup to your pot and heat through.
To serve, ladle into bowls and drizzle each serving with about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon heavy whipping cream if desired. Each serving is approximately 75 calories.
Serving your soup in a teacup is a fun idea–especially if you love vintage teacups like I do!
I also love all kinds of soups, but tomato is one of my favorites! What’s yours?
NancyC 