Lighter Tomato Pie

September 1, 2014 Sharon Leave a comment

Tomato Pie is a perfect light dinner for summertime. If you’ve got a few nice fresh tomatoes that you don’t know what to do with, give this delicious tomato pie recipe a try. As you can see, before I could even get around to taking a picture, a couple slices had mysteriously disappeared. This is a lighter version than the Paula Deen tomato pie, which I found to be delicious, but also very heavy and greasy. Give this lighter tomato pie recipe a try and enjoy the fresh tomatoes of summer.

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes
8 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
4 oz sliced prosciutto (or 4 slices of crisp bacon, crumbled)
1 frozen prepared pie crust
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
dash(es) garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil
salt & pepper
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup garlic/herb cheese spread

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F

Slice tops off of tomatoes and scoop out and discard tomato seeds. Slice tomatoes 1/4″ thick. Lay tomato slices on a clean kitchen towel and lightly sprinkle with salt on each side. Let sit for 15 minutes or so then press with another towel to soak up excess moisture from tomatoes. This step prevents the pie from being mushy.

While waiting for tomatoes to dry out, slice prosciutto (or cook and crumble bacon).

Prick bottom and sides of pie crust. Place on baking sheet (for easier handling) and bake for 8 – 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried oregano and dried basil.

In another small bowl, mix together the light mayonnaise, garlic/herb cheese spread and fresh basil.

To assemble the tomato pie, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the bread crumb mixture into the pie crust. Layer 1/2 of the tomato slices into the pie crust, sprinkle with salt and pepper then 1/2 of the prosciutto (or bacon). Top with the mayonnaise – herb cheese mixture – spread evenly. Repeat layers of tomato, salt, pepper, prosciutto (or bacon). Sprinkle the remaining bread crumb mixture evenly over the top layer.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and topping is lightly browned.

May be served warm or cold.

Only 230 calories per 1/8th of pie.

This recipe is my modified version of a Publix Aprons recipe.

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Sharon Springfield

Lighter Tomato Pie

Breakfast, Casseroles, Main Dish, Quiche, Vegetarian

Asparagus Mushroom Strata

August 17, 2014 Sharon Leave a comment

*Photo by Oliveland

INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons butter, or as needed
1 3/4 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
5 English muffins, split and toasted
1 cup shredded Colby-Monterrey Jack
cheese
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and
cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 onion, finely chopped
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup shredded Colby-Monterrey Jack
cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the mushrooms until their liquid has mostly evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Set the mushrooms aside.
Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish, and arrange 8 muffin halves, cut sides up, in the bottom of the dish. Stuff pieces of remaining muffins into the spaces between the halves. Spread 1 cup of Colby-Monterrey Jack cheese over the muffins in a layer, and distribute the asparagus pieces, mushrooms, red pepper, and onion over the cheese.
Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, dry mustard, and black pepper in a bowl, and pour the egg mixture over the muffins and vegetables. Cover the dish, and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let stand for 30 minutes. Spread 1 cup of Colby-Monterrey Jack cheese in a layer over the casserole.
Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted near the edge comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into squares.
Original recipe at:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Overnight-Asparagus-Mushroom-Strata/Detail.aspx

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Sharon Springfield

Asparagus Mushroom Strata

Beef, Bell Pepper, Crockpot, Main Dish, Rice, Slow Cooker, Steak

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

August 17, 2014 Sharon Leave a comment

Crock Pot Pepper Steak Recipe:

Ingredients
2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips
garlic powder to taste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cube beef bouillon
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Transfer to a slow cooker.
Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
Cover, and cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

*Photo credit unknown

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Here’s the Pinterest link for this recipe: Slow Cooker Pepper Steak Recipe

Sharon Springfield

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak Recipe

Beef, Crockpot, Main Dish, Mushrooms, Roast Beef, Slow Cooker

Crockpot Roast with Ginger-ale Mushroom Onion Gravy

July 19, 2014 Sharon Leave a comment

This delicious crockpot roast has a delicious gravy with a surprising ingredient: Ginger-Ale!

This is now my favorite crockpot roast recipe as all others fall short in the flavor department.

Crockpot Roast with Ginger-ale Mushroom Onion Gravy

Ingredients:

3 pound sirloin tip roast
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 envelope onion soup mix (using full envelope makes it too salty)
1 envelope mushroom gravy mix (may use brown gravy mix instead)
2 cups ginger ale

Directions:

Grease the inside of your crock pot with Crisco. Place the roast in the crock pot. Whisk together the rest of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour over the roast, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Whisk the gravy and flip the roast over every couple hours.

Slice and serve with mashed potatoes or cooked rice.

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Here’s the Pinterest link for this recipe: Crock pot Roast with Ginger-ale Mushroom Onion Gravy

Sharon Springfield

Crockpot Roast with Ginger-ale Mushroom Onion Gravy

Desserts, Ice Cream

Samoas Ice Cream Cake

July 19, 2014 Sharon Leave a comment

Recently as my son’s birthday was approaching, asked him what kind of birthday cake he wanted and gave him my phone to flip through my pinterest recipe board. He saw a recipe for Samoas bars and said he wanted an ice cream cake with Samoas bars on top. So, I took on his challenge and came up with this fantastic ice cream cake with the great taste of Samoas Girl Scout cookies.

However, his birthday is not at the time that you can buy Samoas, so I had to improvise. Keebler makes a cookie that’s pretty close, so that’s what I used instead of the real deal.

This ice cream cake is made in the same fashion as the one I posted last year, so refer to my prior post on how to make a homemade ice cream cake for more detailed instructions and pictures of the process.

For the Samoas Ice Cream Cake, you will need the following ingredients:

Ingredients:

2 pkg Keebler Coconut Dreams cookies or Samoas Girl Scout Cookies
1/2 gal chocolate ice cream or frozen yogurt
1/2 gal dulce de leche (caramel) ice cream or frozen yogurt
1 bag of shredded coconut
caramel sauce
chocolate chips

Directions:

First, prepare a springform pan by lining it with plastic wrap.

Using a food processor, chop up the cookies into crumbles. Do not turn them to dust, there should be some chunks.

Toast the coconut in a nonstick skillet. You will need to do this in about 3 batches for a whole bag of coconut. (I actually only did about 2/3 of the bag and that was enough for the size of cake I made. )

Turn the heat up to medium, add a thin layer of shredded coconut to the skillet and stir it frequently until the coconut is a golden color. Add to a bowl and set aside.

While you are toasting the coconut, you can have your chocolate ice cream sitting out to soften. (about 10 minutes)

Now you have everything ready to go to start assembling the ice cream cake.

Sprinkle the crumbled cookies on the bottom of the springform pan. You will use approximately half of the crumbs for the bottom layer.

Spoon scoops of ice cream over the crumb layer until the entire crumb layer is covered with about an inch and a half layer of ice cream. Sprinkle another layer of cookie crumbs and about half of your toasted coconut over the ice cream and drizzle with caramel. Cover with plastic wrap and very gently press down just to even out the layer. Be careful, the ice cream is soft and you don’t want to push it too hard.

Freeze this layer until it is firm.

Soften the dulce de leche ice cream for about 10 minutes. Add a layer of dulce de leche ice cream to your springform pan. If you have any more cookie crumbs left over, sprinkle them around the outer edge of the top of the ice cream layer. Fill in with the rest of your toasted coconut and lightly drizzle with more caramel. Cover and freeze until the ice cream cake is solid.

Remove the cake from the freezer and remove the springform ring. Using the plastic wrap, lift the ice cream cake off the bottom of the springform cake pan and place the cake on your cake stand. Slip out the plastic wrap.

Melt about half a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave. Transfer the chocolate to a small zip-lock bag. Snip the corner of your baggie and squeeze the melted chocolate over top of the cake. Place the cake back in the freezer uncovered until the chocolate is hardened then cover with plastic wrap.

And that’s it! Slice and serve. Be prepared to hear lots of mmmm’s, this is a great ice cream cake! My son said it’s the best dessert he has ever had in his life. Nice compliment!

Enjoy this delicious Samoas Ice Cream cake!

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Here’s the Pinterest link for this recipe: Samoas Ice Cream Cake

Sharon Springfield

SAMOAS ICE CREAM CAKE

Cooking With Sharon Springfield

Lighter Tomato Pie

Lighter Tomato Pie

Asparagus Mushroom Strata

Asparagus Mushroom Strata

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

Crock Pot Pepper Steak Recipe:

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak Recipe

Crockpot Roast with Ginger-ale Mushroom Onion Gravy

Crockpot Roast with Ginger-ale Mushroom Onion Gravy

Samoas Ice Cream Cake

Sharing my love of cooking and favorite recipes with you!