Amazing Eats

Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce

This is my favorite summertime tomato sauce recipe, especially since we had so many tomatoes this year! It is very simple, but I apologize that the amounts are very approximate. This is a recipe you can change to match your tastes.

You will need: 
- about 2 lbs cherry tomatoes
- about a cup of chicken broth
- enough olive oil to saute garlic
- several cloves of garlic (I like a lot of garlic so definitely tailor this to your taste!)
- oregano to taste
- basil to taste
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 
Chop up and saute the garlic in the olive oil for about a minute, then add the tomatoes. Saute those in the garlic and olive oil for three more minutes or so, and then add the chicken broth. It won't cover the tomatoes, but will stay in the bottom. Just stir it and it will be fine. If you add too much chicken broth, the sauce will be too thick and you'll have to boil it down at the end. Add the spices to the whole mix and boil for about 10 minutes, or until you see the skins of the tomatoes bursting. Take it off the burner and blend with a stick blender! That is it. Voila. :)



Rustic Nut Bars

I have made these rich, delicious nut bars so many times my family and friends have started referring to them as my nut bars. The truth is, I got them from a recipe I found in Southern Living, I think. And then I got the same recipe from the internet, when I lost the recipe I ripped out of a magazine. They are AMAZING. Here is the recipe, and a picture:

Crust: 
- 1 tbsp. plus 3/4 cup of cold butter, divided
-  2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten 

Topping: 
- 2/3 cup honey
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. butter, cubed
- 2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup chopped hazelnuts, toasted (I use macadamia nuts)
- 1 cup roasted salted almonds
- 1 cup salted cashews, toasted
- 1 cup pistachios, toasted

Directions: 

- Line a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan with foil; grease the foil with 1 tablespoon butter. Set aside. 
- Press firmly onto the bottom of prepared pan. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
- In a large heavy saucepan, bring the honey, brown sugar and salt to a boil over medium heat until sugar is smooth; stirring often. Boil without stirring for 2 minutes. Add butter and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in the hazelnuts, almonds, cashews and pistachios. Spread over crust. 
- Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until topping is bubbly. Cool completely on a wire rack. Using foil, lift bars out of pan. Discard foil; cut into squares. Yield: about 3 dozen.   

Kale Chips

These things are the best. I have been searching for an addictive alternative to potato chips, and all other crunchy, carby things that I love to snack on. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com, and decided to make it my own. I bought 2 bunches of kale, cut the large stems out and cut them up to the size of potato chips. I noticed that it didn't matter too much if the kale was varying in size. Instead of using sherry like the recipe called for, I used olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and some cayenne pepper. I baked them like the recipe called for until they were crunchy almost all the way through. Yum!