Cherry Tomato and Pesto Tarts

This is delicious! I'm eating it right now actually.  I can't believe how good it tastes, which is amazing because I don't really like tomatoes.  It actually tastes better than any pizza I've had lately.   What I love most about this is that it take literally a minute to assemble, so its perfect for mothers or working people who need to throw something fast and nutritious together on a limited time frame.  You just basically defrost some puff pastrys (or make your own, whatever you want). Put down a layer of pesto on the pastry, the slice some cherry tomatoes in half and lay them flat side down on the pesto.  Sprinkle with fresh rosemary, oregano, Parmesan cheese, and a bit of extra virgin olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F.     Try it out!

Roasted Tomatoes

• 12 plum tomatoes, halved


• 8 slices of pancetta or 4 slices of bacon, optional


• 2 onions, chopped


• 4 garlic cloves, minced


• 1/4 cup of olive oil


• penne pasta or other type


• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Cut the bacon with a pair of kitchen scissors (its easier than cutting raw bacon!) and toss it with the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and onions in a casserole dish or glass dish.  Preheat the oven and bake them until the tomatoes shrivel up a bit, the onions and garlic cooks down and the bacon is done (around an hour).  It smells fantastic! eat it as is, or mash it up and put it over penne or some larger slotted or fluted pasta so it holds everything nicely.

We absolutely loved it! so fragrant and fresh!

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

So for dinner I finally made that sweet potato gnocchi and it is very delicious.  It is a little time consuming to make and the dough is very sticky so a good army of flour is needed for the rolling.

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) sweet potatoes


• 1 clove garlic, pressed


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg


• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Cook the sweet potatoes until they're mashable, once they are and cooled mash em up and add the rest of the ingredients.  It will be VERY sticky, add the flour bit by bit not all at once. It will create a soft dough.  Flour up yer cutting board and put your playdoh skills to use rolling it out like a snake.  At this point you should have prepared a large pot of boiling salty water.  Cut up your snake in to may little snake pieces and toss it in the pot a few roll outs at a time as to not overcrowd the pot.  Once they're floating take them out.  When I took them out I let them sit in a strainer for a sec to get the water off them and then bowled them.  Eat it with whatever sauce or butter meets your fancy, I ate them plain.

yum!

Buffalo Chicken Fingers!

I saw this recipe and it looked fast and intriguing. I love spicy.  I say that boldly, because I honestly mean that I like SPICY, not HOT.  Hot is tasteless and burning.  I like my heat in my food to be pure flavourful spices.  Tonights dinner is based on that recipe! With adjustments and changes to fit my taste.

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into finger-sized pieces


• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour


• 1 teaspoon garlic powder


• 1 teaspoon medium chilli powder


• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt


• 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs


• 2 egg whites, beaten


• 1 tablespoon water


• splash of Jan's Spicy Sauce (substitute for your favorite sauce)