PW's Marinated Tomato Salad with Herbs with a little inspiration from Beyer Beware

It is no secret that I have been in a writing and cooking funk this summer and so far the start of school for Big Sissy and Bubby has not helped me get out of that funk.  However, I think the premiere of The Pioneer Woman's new show on the Food Network has gotten me going again which is only fitting as she was the inspiration around me starting my blog. 

After watching the premiere episode yesterday, I was inspired to get back in the kitchen.  It is very rare that when I watch a cooking show that I have all of the ingredients needed to make something they just made on hand.  This was the case yesterday after I watched Ree make her marinated tomato salad with herbs, but thanks to Miss Leah from Beyer Beware always inspiring me to be adventurous in the kitchen, I didn't let that stop me.  So thanks to Ree and Leah, we had one yummy marinated tomato salad as a side dish for dinner last night. 

Marinated Tomato Salad with Herbs
6 to 8 ripe tomatoes
4 green onions
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-4 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Handful fresh parsley leaves, lightly chopped
12 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

I didn't have any green onions, parsley, or basil on hand, but I thought it was worth a go since I had some delicious yellow tomatoes on hand along with all of the ingredients to make the marinade.  I also had a home grown cucumber so I decided to add it to the tomatoes in place of the green onions. 

Directions
Cut the tomatoes into 4 wedges, then cut the wedges in half and add to a bowl. 

Slice the cucumber  and add to the bowl with the tomatoes. 

Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, dash of salt and pepper to a jar.

Screw on the lid and shake to combine.  (My dressing is slightly lighter than PW's as I only had white balsamic vinegar on hand.)

Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and toss.

Add the herbs and gently toss to combine.  Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving. 

Enjoy!

Although I had to make a few substitutions and didn't have any herbs, The Farmer gave this dish two thumbs up.  Now I can't wait to make it with the herbs and onions as I bet it will only be better.

Linked to Pinke Post's PW party

Savory Pork and Pasta

So Ott, A has me cooking out of my comfort zone again ... canned tomatoes.  The truth is I have never cooked with canned tomatoes.  In fact, I didn't even like tomatoes until about 8 years ago.  I grew up a ketchup and tomato soup fan, but beyond that tomatoes and I were not friends. 

Any way since canned tomatoes are the secret ingredient for Ott, A's March Iron Chef Challenge, I decided now was the time I needed to conquer canned tomatoes.

So thanks to the super cool package of tomato goodies I received from Red Gold (Thank You Red Gold), I had a brand new cookbook of canned tomato recipes to choose from or should I say for The Farmer to choose from for this challenge. 

That's right, I let The Farmer choose the recipe I would use for this challenge.  Needless to say, he found a recipe that included pork and was a winner for this pig pen.

Savory Pork and Pasta
1 1/2 cups fusilli, penne, or other small pasta
1 pound ground pork
1 onion, chopped
1 t. basil
1t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can of Stewed Tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can of Tomato Sauce
1 zucchini or yellow squash, chopped

Cook the pasta using package direction; drain.  Cover to keep warm. 

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the ground pork and onion. 

Cook until the ground pork is brown and crumbly, stirring frequently; drain.

Stir in the basil, salt, and pepper.  Add the undrained stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce and mix well.  (Unfortunately, I could not find Red Gold product for my recipe so I had to use competitor products.)

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add the pasta and zucchini and mix well.  Cook for 2 to 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. 

And dinner is ready...

And thankfully that goodie package from Red Gold kept Little Sissy busy while I cooked.