Roasted Tomato Soup

Do any of you gardeners know the stage where you have too many tomatoes to eat fresh, but not quite enough to make a canner full of something?  This is when I make a batch of tomato soup.  I freeze it and then use it for recipes or just to eat.  I found this recipe for roasted tomato soup and thought it sounded great.  I made a double batch and used chicken broth I had in the freezer instead of vegetable broth.  It seemed to me it needed a bit more spice to it, so I also added 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning and a bit of fresh basil.  If you like a bit of heat, I would consider roasting a hot pepper with it or adding a few splashes of hot sauce.   
 
I would like to tell you how much this made and how much I froze, but we ate this with supper and this was all I had left.
 
 
Needless to say, my family loved this!  I hope to make it again when I have more tomatoes and this time get some in the freezer!

Fresh Tomato-Cucumber Salad

Today is our 14th wedding anniversary!  It was a fairly normal day of ortho appointments, dentist appointments (no cavities, yeah!!!!), work, balancing the checkbook, etc.  My hubby did try to awaken me enough this morning to say "Happy Anniversary," which is very difficult since I'm in my first trimester I could sleep endless amounts stage.  Oh, If you haven't heard we are expecting our 5th child in the spring!  We are so excited! 

Anyway, back to the food.  I was loosely following a recipe tonight & changed so many things, I think I came up with an original.  ;)

Fresh Tomato-Cucumber Salad
1 cucumber, sliced & quartered
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered (any tomato should work)
1 small onion, diced
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil (I used extra virgin)
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp white pepper

Place all the veggies and parsley in a bowl & set aside.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of ingredients until fully combined.  Drizzle the dressing over the vegetables & set aside for 20 minutes.  Gently toss before serving.




We carved out a few minutes to have dinner together tonight with 4 of our favorite people.  :)  
On the menu:
Grass-fed rib eyes
Baked sweet potatoes
Sauteed squash
Fresh tomato-cucumber salad
Cinnamon rolls


 

We rounded out our unromantic anniversary by digging potatoes after dinner.  It was actually a great day!

Banana Nut Porridge

Here's a great change up for breakfast when eggs are getting old.  My kiddos are not a fan of this, but I like it.  It is not very sweet, but I find it satisfying.  The recipe says it makes 4 servings.  Realistically it is more like 2 hearty adult portions.  I topped mine with some organic raisins.
Banana Nut Porridge Recipe

Cole Slaw

Who has cabbage in their garden?  I have several huge heads!  Why must cabbage plants come in a 4 pack at the nursery?  Why do I always think I need both green & red?  Why do they all have to mature at the same time?  Well, we are working on a couple this week by making cole slaw.  These are approximate quantities since cabbage sizes differ.

1/2 green cabbage, shredded
1/2 red cabbage, shredded
2 large carrots, grated


Dressing:
3/4 cup mayonaise
6 Tbsp heavy whipping cream (not strict paleo, but we tolerate it in our family since it is mostly fat)
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp powdered stevia (can use liquid, but you will need to play around with how much)
1/2  tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Shake all dressing ingredients in a jar.  Store in the fridge until ready to serve.  About 30 minutes-1 hour before serving, mix with cabbage and refridgerate until serving.

Cole slaw pairs well with fish.  We had these fish sticks, fresh green beans, and sliced tomatoes also.