Dinner Tonight: Spaghetti

Okay class, its time for the spelling bee.
Can anyone tell me what S-P-A-G-H-E-T-T-I spells?
Spaghetti? Um, nooo. Any other guesses?
Yes, that's right S-P-A-G-H-E-T-T-I spells EASY!
Great job and thank you!

During September I bottled tomatoes one day. It made a huge mess, was exhausting, etc, etc, etc... And then my tomato plants had the nerve to produce MORE tomatoes! How rude of them! Okay, okay, I was actually ecstatic with the abundant production of my four plants. But after making a huge mess one day, I couldn't justify making the mess over and over and over for just a few tomatoes at a time. So.... I froze them! Yep, I froze tomatoes. Have any of you ever tried this? I got the idea from good old Martha but changed the baking temp and time a little. Basically, you halve the tomatoes, arrange them on a oven-safe cooling rack and bake them at a low temperature for a long time to dry them. I am sure you could also just use a food dehydrator. I did mine at 250 degrees for about 2 hours. I also sprinkled them with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning - ready for spaghetti sauce! Once they are dried out (they still remain fairly mushy), throw them in freezer zip-loc bags and into the freezer! It worked out perfect for preserving my small batches of late tomatoes.

I used some of my frozen goodies tonight for dinner. Check it out! (They will take a little longer to cook than regular bottled tomatoes - they are frozen, people!) Add tomato sauce and you have yourself a meal!!! Have I ever mentioned how MUCH I LOVE EASY???

(Here's my un-attended sauce 15 minutes later. Perfectly lovely and easy. All on its own!)

Dinner Tonight: BLT

It has been a fairly busy day and tonight Husband and I are leaving for home. Thus, dinner is low on the priority list. I was busy making a salad for tomorrow (ever tried broccoli salad?) and was smart enough to cook a few extra slices of bacon.

Have I ever mentioned my undying love for bacon?? Oh how I love that greasy goodness...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Where was I? .... Oh! Dinner.... I am taking Easy Street and we are having BLTs. Mine will be in the form of a salad; Flint's will be a sandwich.

Side note: Have you ever considered what an oxymoron a BLT is? I have an idea! Lets take bacon, pretty much the worst food for our hearts, and eat it with tomatoes and lettuce, so that we don't have to feel so guilty about eating it :) But don't worry, I've never felt guilty about eating bacon, even without the LT added!

...I always love an excuse to take it easy - especially when it involves bacon :)

What's for Dinner Tonight

A new daily segment. Let's see how long I keep up for - ha!

Baked Sweet Potatoes
Have I ever mentioned how much I love sweet potatoes? Yum Yum Yum! So moist, sweet and delicious. If you are not a fan yet, give these wonderful tubers another try!

• Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Serve with butter, salt and pepper. Truly delish!

BBQ Stew Meat
Another Mom favorite. Stew meat must be boiled in order to get tender. But once boiled... Oh baby oh. I'm talking fork tender and mouth watering.

Confessions

Ok ok... I admit. I am NOT a consistent blogger. My apologies.

As far as whats been happening around here... My corn is now taller than my fence! Wo-hoo! I have several more zuchinnis and tomatoes showing up. And my potato plants are h.u.g.e! I am so loving loving loving my garden. Its definitely my favorite part of the summer.

Things I have learned... Weeds aren't the end of the world. 'Seven' dust keeps the bugs from eating every new leaf. My lilac tree creates way too much shade for the east side of the garden (this issue really must be addressed next year). And most important, I love to garden.

Food Wise...
Husband and I went on a little weekend get-away, so I didn't have to cook at all Saturday or Sunday :) :) :) :) :) However, before the get-away, eight o'clock on Friday night rolled around super fast and I was starting to feel that onery, panicky, stressed-out anxiety I get when I haven't made a plan for dinner (Does anyone else ever have these feelings???). Rather than lash out unreasonably at Flint, I opened up my recipe box and tried to find the easiest possible thing to make. (Not lashing out really was progress for me.) And boy oh boy did I ever succeed at finding the perfect recipe! Only seven ingredients and hardly any prep at all. And best of all, Flint loved it!!!

BBQ Chicken

Chicken, Cheese & a Carter!

Yay! We have our FIRST guest blogger here at the Emerald Gardens! Let me introduce you to 

Mrs. Kelli {Carter} Meyer

 

I know Kelli as a Carter, so its hard for me to remember the Meyer at the end! Kelli and I grew up together and have always been good gal pals. Specifically when I think of Kelli, I think of showing steers. She and I were always county fair buddies and did lots of 4-H/FFA stuff together. The Carter family women are great cooks (who love spicy food!) and Kelli's mom makes the best fudge to be found :) Kelli is now forever away, living in Missouri, doing great things with her life: husband in vet school while wife in nursing school - you guys rock!).

Kelli sent me a few recipes. Today I am sharing a chicken dish. Sadly I couldn't make it for dinner because I don't have Stovetop on hand (...and the grocery store in 80 miles away...). However, I am grocery shopping on Thursday and Stovetop will be at the top of my list! Once I've made it, I'll give my review :)

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Everyday Food

That sounds like my exact goal. I want 'everyday food.' Ingredients that I have on hand. A recipe that doesn't take eternity. And NOT a sinkful of 1000000 dirty dishes.

I signed up for the Everyday Food Blog weekly newsletter (thanks, Martha). It is supposed to come every Tuesday and give me some fun ideas. I will update you once I get my first couple newsletters and let you know whether its worth the 'inbox-clutter."

(Even though I love to watch Martha on TV, sometimes her recipes really aren't practical, and that's why I'm a little spectical about this newsletter. Hopefully the old gal proves me wrong!)