Easy Peasy Tutorial - Roasting Tomatoes

This recipe/tutorial is one that comes from a friend of a friend's friend.

I scribbled it down at one point, lost it, and found it again.

Let me tell you, they are good!  I was glad to find this recipe.  So, here goes.  

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  You can find this at the grocery store.

You'll need about 3 pounds.  I bought these gorgeous romas at Sam's Club.  You'll need a knife for slicing and a knife for cutting.

 

Slice the tomatoes in half and scoop out the pulp.

As you prepare the tomatoes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the tomatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  You can add herbs of your choice.  Basil is great for flavor!

Bake the tomatoes at 375 for about 45 minutes.  When the time is up, raise the heat to 400 degrees and bake for about 20 more minutes.  Shut off the oven.  I think I let them sit in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Cool and enjoy.  I think I read that these tomatoes last a week in the refrigerator.  I know they last longer in the freezer, but most of the time, they don't make it to the freezer.  They are great low calorie snacks!

Enjoy!

Surprise!

The garden is full of weeds.

It's laborious to clean each section, as each parcel is cleared,

I see bits and pieces of scenery that

I knew were there,

and once in a while,

a surprise!

Last year, the garden had two large tomato plants.

This year, even though it's late in the season, the garden again has two smaller tomato plants!

While I was gone, two volunteers began to grow!

One of them even has 

tomatoes,

and they're almost ripe!

Now, how fun is that!!!!!

Won't Spring EVER Arrive!

I've been waiting so long! I went out and bought my plants last week. When Nick came home, we went to Sam's Club and bought 100 pounds of soil.

I had already bought my garden table there, and since then I've been waiting and waiting and waiting. Well, you get the picture.









So, with Nick home and ready to pick up those 50 pound sacks of dirt for me, I put the base of my garden table down and filled it with sand.


















I wasn't sure how much sand it would need, so I just kept adding sand to the opening where the red cover is located. I added sand until the base felt heavy.




















Now, Nick sure helped me when it came to adding the soil for the plants. We put the vines in the holes, and we actually were able to drill two other holes at the bottom of the table for plants. Can you see the tomatoes and the cucumber vines? Behind the center leg is the zucchini plant.
Nick added the dirt. He emptied a 50 pound bag into that table. I honestly didn't think it would hold that much, but it did! We added the herbs on top. I also put in an extra pepper plant on the top.

Then, I read the forcast for that night. There was an expected LOW of 37 degrees. Next step, cover up all that hard work.

















I'm happy to say that it didn't get as cold as predicted. It was only 39! Needless to say, the plants all survived, but they did get a little bit cold when I uncovered them this morning. I let them bask in the sun. Tonight, the predicted low will only be 49, I think my garden will be fun. More updates to follow as the season of spring progresses, if it ever really arrives!

Here's What I Made for Supper Tonight!

I made some Italian Bean Soup. The history of this soup dates back about 10 years, or so. Maybe more "or so" than anything else. My husband and I had been to an Italian restaurant in the Twin Cities that served a wonderful bean soup. He asked me if I could make it. I tried to remember all the flavors, and I went to the store. We had a friend over for dinner, and, between the 3 of us, managed to consume the entire pot of soup, and it wasn't a small pot of soup! This soup, although, not necessarily authentic, has been a favorite. Since today was the first real hint of autumn day, when the air was cool and the sun didn't shine, I decided to make my world famous Italian Bean Soup for supper. Now, here's how I made it. I'll just show you the picture. These are all the ingredients that you'll need, except for the onion. You need a little bit of onion to brown with the Italian Sausage. Ooooops! I just realized that I didn't get a picture of the Italian Sausage either. Okay, that's all right. Just remember that you need an onion and a pound of Italian Sausage to start the soup. Brown your sausage, and drain the grease. Add the onion and brown it slowly. Then you add these ingredients.








As far as the Italian Seasoning goes, I used about half a bottle. Yes, I said a half a bottle. That is correct I also added just a bit of salt and pepper. Use your judgment on how much you want to add.

I cooked everything on low for about an hour. I let the soup sit for about 2 hours to help bring out all the flavors. The left overs I have will taste much better tomorrow. After the 2 hours of just sitting, I measured out about 1 cup of soup, and I had a wonderful supper. A slice of crusty bread is one of the greatest accompaniments to this delicious and easy soup. Here's the final result! It was so good!



















This soup is also great made in a crock pot. Take it to a pot luck. You will be very much appreciated there. I only wish you could taste this soup. I know you'd like it, too!