Roasted Broccoli-- delicious!

Preheat oven to 375°
Chop a head of broccoli (do not rinse, immediately prior to preparing!)
Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic
Put broccoli, garlic, 2 tbsp. olive oil, and a few shakes of salt and pepper in a ziploc bag.
Shake it up!!
Spread out on baking sheet, place on top rack, and bake for about 30 minutes.
Broccoli will be crunchy and delicious!

*you can also try this with other veggies like carrots, zucchini, or potatoes-- try adding fresh herbs too like rosemary or thyme:)

I found this on facebook with a link to the page below:
Getting Skinny with Martha

 — with Martha Crumpton.

Becca's Salsa

30 oz.can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 bunch green onion
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 jalapeno sliced

Combine all ingredients in blender.  YUM!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This soup is a little different than Mom's, because it uses Velveeta cheese instead of cheddar. I make both recipes, but use different recipes to switch it up a bit. If you've ever had Jason's Deli's Broccoli Cheese soup, this tastes similar.

1/2 stick butter
1 onion, diced
3 c. half and half
1 c. milk
2 heads of fresh broccoli
1/3 c. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
16 ounces Velveeta Cheese, cubed
salt to taste

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring the onion until tender.  Wash and trim the ends of the broccoli (including the small stems because they are good in the soup). Chop into small pieces. Add broccoli, chicken broth and half and half . Cover and bring to a boil. Then simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10-15 minutes.

In a small bowl whisk together milk, cornstarch, pepper and garlic salt. Add to boiling broccoli mixture, stirring until thickened, about 3-4 minutes,

Reduce heat to low-medium and stir in cheese until melted. Add salt to taste.

(half and half can be substituted for 4 cups of chicken broth if you want)

Tomatoes Caprese - AMPED!

Regular tomatoes caprese consists of thick sliced fresh tomatoes, salt and pepper, olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, topped with mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves.  This is fabulous in the summer when garden tomatoes are in abundance.  However, for the rest of the year, I prefer this recipe for tomatoes caprese-- it can make even the most bland store-bought tomatoes taste dynamite!

*The original recipe roasts the tomatoes for quite some time as you can see.  If you want to get it done a little faster, you can also roast them at 425 for about 30 minutes.  Speeding things up still gets you the same yummy caramelized tomato flavor, but it also makes them a bit mooshy.  They look prettier if you do it the original way.  I say, who cares!  You can also use them as a topping for bruschetta - aka french baguette bread cut up and toasted!

12 roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds (not cores) removed

¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 ½ T balsamic vinegar

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

16 ounces fresh salted mozzarella - the cheap kind works great too!

12 fresh basil leaves, julienned - a fancy word for cutting things about the width of a matchstick

Preheat oven to 275 degrees

**To be honest, I do not measure out these things much anymore.  I just toss my garlic in the food processor to get it tiny, and sprinkle/drizzle my tomatoes generously with all ingredients!  But, if you want to be more precise. . .

Arrange tomato’s on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with the garlic, sugar, 1 ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper. Roast for 2 hours until the tomatoes are concentrated and begin to carmelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.

Cut the mozzarella into slices slightly less than ½ inch think. If the slice of mozzarella are larger than the tomatoes, cut them in half. Layer the tomatoes alternately with the mozzarella on a platter and scatter the basil on top. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

Mizithra Cheese

If you have ever been to The Old Spaghetti Factory, you may have seen this dish on their menu.  It is one of my favorites, and sooooo easy to make.  It's very rich, so I tend to use it as a side dish with some grilled chicken and broccoli.  Or if you want to go for a vegetarian night, try making it your main course with sides of tomato caprese, veggies, and bread.

1/2 lb. thin spaghetti or angel hair
1 cube butter
mizithra cheese - sometimes spelled myzithra, you can find this in the specialty cheese area of your deli, I usually have luck at Smith's

Cook your pasta to desired firmness.  While pasta is cooking, put the butter in a small saucepan and cook it until it is brown. You will know it is done when it boils down and the milk solids turn brown and sink to the bottom as they solidify.  The butter will also smell deliciously nutty.  WATCH IT CAREFULLY as the next step after brown is burnt.

Drain pasta.  With tongs, dip pasta briefly into the butter then onto your plate.  Use your smallest shredder or microplaner to shred the mizithra cheese all over your pasta-- I like it pretty snowy.