Grilled Tomato Mozzarella Basil Sandwiches

If you love the flavors of fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, then you will love this twist on a grilled cheese sandwich!  I was able to use fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden and it was amazing!

Ingredients:
3-4 slices of fresh tomato
4 leaves of fresh basil
4-6 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
butter
2 slices Italian bread

Directions:
1.  Spray nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat on a medium-high.
2,  Butter one side of each of the slices of bread.
3.  Put one slice of bread (butter down) on the heated skillet.  Top with 1/2 of mozzarella, basil leaves, tomato, and then other 1/2 of mozzarella.  Top with other slice of bread (butter side up).
4.  When golden brown, flip sandwich to brown other side.
5.  Enjoy!

Zucchini Cakes

The zucchini has begun to sprout in our garden.  I made two loaves of zucchini bread on Saturday morning and had some grated zucchini left over.  So last night I made these zucchini cakes to go with dinner.  They were delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 onion, grated
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika

Directions:
1.  Heat oil in a pan on medium-high heat
2.  Combine all ingredients.  Shape in a patty (they are a little lose) and then carefully lay into hot oil.
3.  Flip after 3-5 minutes (when nicely browned) and repeat on the other side.

I ate mine with ketchup (but I love ketchup on a lot of things), I think sour cream would also be good!

Enjoy!

Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil Salad

So our garden has been loaded with tomatoes this year!  I made this quick and easy Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil Salad for my daughter's Baptism a few weeks ago.  The best part is, you can make this up in the morning, and when the party begins, simply bring it out and serve!

Cut up Roma tomatoes in thin slices.  Slice mozzarella cheese into thin slices.  Cut fresh Basil in thin strips.  Place two tomatoes on serving dish, place a slice a mozzarella on top and then garnish with fresh basil.  Then use a Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing and place all over the salad.  (I used the Aldi brand and it tasted wonderful!)  Let sit in the refrigerator before serving for a few hours to soak up the flavors of the dressing.  Enjoy!  I received so many compliments on this light, tasty salad.  Plus it was a bonus when I said the tomatoes were fresh from my garden!

Tomatoes are Abundant!

WOW - we have had a really good garden year.  We are now "knee-deep" in tomatoes!  We had a really good harvest of zucchini and cucumbers and now the tomatoes are coming in and they keeping coming!

We have cherry, romas, and some good old Better Boys!

I also have 1 lonely green pepper (those did not do so hot) and a few jalepenos!  I made one batch of salsa last week and another one is on the horizon!

How is your garden growing?

Garden Update & Zucchini Bread!

So my garden is doing great thus far!  This week we picked 5 zucchinis and one cucumber.  The cucumber was a bit on the small side, but the boys really wanted to pick it and have it for lunch.  Which they did, they ate it up!

So with the zucchini's this week I made these Baked Zucchini Sticks and today I made 2 loaves of my Zucchini Bread!  My house smells amazing and I cannot wait to cut into the bread!

I have lots of green tomatoes, some jalapenos, and loads of small cucumbers.  I anticipate being able to pick some more zucchinis and cucumbers this week.  Perhaps in two weeks my tomatoes and jalapenos will be ready and I can made homemade salsa, my absolute favorite thing to make with garden fresh veggies!

Enjoy!

The Garden is Planted!

The garden is planted!  We finally had a few days without rain so my husband was able to till up the soil for me!  Normally we start plants from seeds, however with our Disney trip at the beginning of May that was not possible this year. 

My son and I headed to the garden store yesterday to pick up some plants.  We are growing an "easy" garden this year.  I only planted items that I know normally grow well in our garden.  We normally try some new things each year, but we had not had much success in the past.  Two years ago we tried watermelon and cantaloupe.  We only managed to get a few of each and it was not worth the maintenance.  Last year we tried broccoli and cauliflower, but theses never made it since we often have bunny visitors.

So this is what we are growing this year:

1. Tomatoes - 3 plants
2. Roma Tomatoes - 1 plant
3. Cherry Tomatoes - 4 plants
4. Cucumbers - 4 plants
5. Zucchini - 4 plants
6. Green Bell Peppers - 3 plants
7. Jalapenos - 3 plants

We cannot wait for the veggies to begin sprouting.  I can almost taste the fresh BLT sandwiches and garden fresh salsa - our two garden favorites!

Happy Growing!

Garden Update

Well it is August and I got some more cherry tomatoes this week!  I also picked 2 regular tomatoes and some jalepenos.  I just made up some homemade salsa and cannot wait to eat it this weekend.  Check out my sunflowers.  That is all ONE plant.  Kind of strange, I have never seen that before!

Do you see my corn??  Yes I have corn growing!  This was an experiement this year and so far it is working.  I was able to spot multiple ears of corn growing.  We will see if we get enough to make a meal of it.  If so, we are going to expand the corn patch next year! 

How is your garden growing?

Garden Picking

The garden slowed down a little this week however I was able to pick a few things that made for a fresh salad with our dinner. This included:


A bunch of lettuce
Some cherry tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 zucchini

I have lots of tomatoes and a few of my bigger ones are turning orange so hopefully next week we will have some tomatoes. I also have some jalapeños and green peppers that will be ready next week. I can smell the salsa already!

My cucumbers have been strange this year, they have all been short and fat. However they have tasted great so I guess size does not matter. A great lesson in life!

The Garden Has Sprung!

So after being away for a week, we were surprised by the progress of our garden. When we got home we had to weed and weed some more. I think weeding is a never ending battle no matter what! But it is worth it when you get freshly grown veggies from your own backyard! So we were able to pick:

6 zucchini

5 green peppers
1 cucumber

I already whipped up 2 loaves of zucchini bread, check out my recipe here. I am also making my stuffed green peppers for dinner this week. I am working on a recipe for Sausage Stuffed Zucchini that I will put up later in the week. Stay tuned for more updates as our hard work begins to come to light as we begin to pick our veggies. I have A LOT of green tomatoes and some little jalapenos so I am hoping for some fresh salsa in the weeks to come. This is my absolute favorite dish of summer!

Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes - Under $2 Garden Fresh Dinner

This is a great recipe when all those cherry tomatoes come in the garden!

Ingredients:

1/2# pasta

1-2 pints of cherry tomatoes

3 tbsp olive olive

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove of minced garlic

3 tbsp fresh chopped basil

salt & pepper to taste

Turn on pasta water to boil, wash and halve the cherry tomatoes.

Saute onion in olive oil in large skillet for a couple of minutes, add cherry tomatoes and garlic and let cook for 20 minutes, meanwhile cook the pasta.

Add the pasta directly from the boiling water and stir, top with basil and salt and pepper (sorry I took the last picture before the basil)!



Check out more Tomato reicpes at the Ultimate Recipe Swap on Life As Mom!

The Garden Seeds are Started

So today was such a productive day!  I got the seeds started for the garden this year.  This year's garden will include:

Cucumbers
Cherry Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Green Peppers
Jalepenos
Cauliflower (NEW)
Broccoli (NEW)
Zucchini (NEW)
Cilantro (NEW)
Lettuce (NEW - will plant directly in the garden)
Carrots (NEW - will plant directly in the garden)

So we are attempting SIX new plants this year.  We will see how it goes.  We always have great sucess with our cucumbers, check them out here, as well as the peppers and tomatoes.  We have had bad luck with green beans due to the rabbits that like to have bunnies IN our garden (2 years in a row).  We also tried cantelope and watermelons last year, but for the space they take up we only got 1 - 2 per plant.  So on to better things!  I cannot wait until the garden starts producing some of our fresh veggies!  What's in your garden this year?

Gardening Perks

So here is Ohio, the gardening season is 4-5 months during the summer. I grow lots of tomatoes and I like to chop them and freeze them for use all winter long. I made chili on Monday and look what I still have in my freezer? It is some tomatoes with a little bit of green peppers on top, perfect for a Crockpot full of chili. I just throw the frozen bunch in the Crockpot and let it cook. I have not bought canned tomatoes in a few years now. I seem to chop enough up to have enough to last until next year’s garden and the best thing is I know that we grew them!

Pita Crisps with Cucumber Dip

Here is another recipe I have tried with my large supply of garden cucumbers. It was a big hit!

Ingredients for the Dip:

• 1 cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup light mayo
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp chopped dill
• 1 tbsp chopped mint
• pinch of salt

Ingredients for the crisps:

• 8 small pita rounds (5" in diameter)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 minced garlic clove
• pinch of salt and pepper
  

1. Preheat oven to 375. Wrap cucumbers in paper towels to remove excess moisture.

2. Stir together all ingredients for the dip and refrigerate in a airtight container.

3. Split each pita horizontally and then cut into quarters. Toss pitas with other ingredients in large ziploc bag. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and spread pitas. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown!

The Garden Has Sprung!

Hey check out all of these cucumbers we picked today! I am in search of some good recipes!