Favorites: Cream of Tomato Soup with Homemade Garlic Croutons

Unfortunately my picture taking abilities do not do this dish justice.


Tomatoes could very well be one of my favorite foods. I love their refreshing flavor and slightly acidtic flavor. Maybe they are an acquired taste because I certainly didn't care for them as a child. Perhaps, it was when I first tried a homegrown version that I fell in love. Maybe it wasn't until I had the opportunity to visit Italy and ate one delicious plump red fruit after another that I became smitten. Whenever it was, my love has never waned since. I've become somewhat of a tomato soup connoisseur. Campbell's is out - WAY too sweet and several other versions have let me down. Why would you want to throw a bunch of sugar with those delicate red beauties? Their natural flavor is what is so appealing.

When I found this recipe, I was immediately skeptical. But after simmering a large pot of it, I knew I was onto something. It has become a family favorite. It's simple to make and forget about crushing up some saltines, you must try the homemade garlic croutons.

Homegrown tomatoes are perfect for this dish but if you do not have this option, canned tomatoes are a great alternative. Canned tomatoes are vine ripened and then immediately processed for canning while tomatoes in the produce section are typically picked far before they receive their ripened red flavor from the sun.

1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1 (14.5 oz) can vegetable broth
1 (29 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
Pinch baking soda
2 cups half and half (fat free version works great here)
Dash cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Cornstarch and cold water to thicken, about 1 Tbsp of each (optional)

In a Dutch oven or large sauce pan, saute onions in butter for 5 minutes. Slowly stir in vegetable broth and tomatoes. Add pinch of baking soda; stir. Simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat. At this point, place soup in a food processor or use stick immersion blender to puree tomatoes to desired consistency. Return to low heat and slowly stir in half and half. If you want a thicker soup, whisk in cornstarch dissolved in water and cook until thickened. Season to taste with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. To serve, generously garnish with Homemade Garlic Croutons.

Homemade Garlic Croutons
4 slices (1" thick) french or Italian bread
4 Tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
Dash salt

Cut bread into 1" cubes. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add dash of salt; stir. Fold in bread cubes and stir until thoroughly coated with butter. Spread evenly onto a shallow baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring periodically to ensure even browning.

Chicken with Pecan Cream Sauce

I know what you're thinking. Cream sauce? I can't do cream sauce! Wait! This is unlike any cream sauce you've ever had. This dish is adapted from Cooking Light. As you know I'm a big fan and faithful reader of Cooking Light. A couple of years ago I picked up the chicken cookbook and have made nearly half of the recipes now.

Only one (Tandoori Chicken) dish was disappointing. Chicken with Pecan Cream Sauce is a definite favorite and is a perfect quick and easy dish to prepare for autumn. The combination of flavors is a surprising change and you'd never guess that there is not one drop of cream in the "cream" sauce.

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup water

1/2 cup lowfat milk

2 1/2 tsps salt, divided

6 (6 oz each) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

1 (8 oz) pkg presliced mushrooms, rinsed and dried

4 cups cooked eggs noodles (delicious with whole wheat noodles too)

Chopped fresh parsley

Place pecans in a food processor (this works better than a blender for this recipe) and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape sides of bowl and add water, milk and 1 1/2 tsp salt while processor is on.

Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1 tsp salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with nonstick cooking spray. Add chicken and saute 3-5 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

Add onions and mushroom to pan, saute 3 minutes or until mushroom give off their juices. Stir in pecan cream and bring to a boil. Cook 1 1/2 minutes. Place 2/3 cup noodles on each of the 6 plates. Slice chicken; top each serving with 1 chicken breast half and 1/3 cup sauce. Garnish with parsley.

Amish Friendship Bread

The legend goes that every Amish Friendship Bread start can be traced back to an Amish woman who shared her cinnamon sweet bread with friends. It is similar to a sourdough start in that it is yeast-based and it develops over time through fermentation. However the legend got started it's delicious and more of a cake than any bread I've eaten. I was given a start a couple of years ago and enjoyed baking the bread every 10 days and being able to share starts with others. Then one time I accidentally gave away all the starts and I was left with only freshly baked bread. After searching on the old internet I found some recipes for starts and found one that closely resembled what I had made months ago. So here I share not only the start recipe, but the ingredients and directions needed to bake the final product which will certainly not disappoint! Your friends may not appreciate their baggie of "goo" that they will be responsible for 'tending' the following 10 days but will certainly be grateful for it when they bite into the warm, cinnamon-sugar coated sweet bread. And if you don't want to hang onto the start and bake every 10 days, then simply bake all of the starts and share those with friends!

One thing to be aware of - using metal spoons, whisks, measuring cups or mixing bowls may cause your yeast to fail so it is recommended to use only plastic, glass or wood.

Start Recipe:

1 (.25 oz) pkg active dry yeast or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

In a small bowl dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a glass or plastic mixing bowl combine flour and sugar. Slowly stir in milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Place in a large resealable plastic bag.

This is considered Day 1.

On Day 2: "Knead or moosh" the bag. Release any air that has built up inside the bag.

Day 3: Repeat

Day 4: Repeat

Day 5: Mix in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk and knead the bag to combine ingredients.

Day 6: "Knead or moosh" the bag. Release any air that has built up inside the bag.

Day 7: Repeat as Day 6.

Day 8: Repeat

Day 9: Repeat

Day 10: Mix in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk and knead the bag to combine ingredients. Separate mixture into 4 large resealable plastic bags (1 cup each). Set aside one bag for yourself - to repeat the 10 day process. Share 2 of the bags with friends and use remaining bag (start) to mix in bread ingredients to bake.

To your start, complete the following directions -

3 eggs

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

1 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 large box vanilla instant pudding mix

"Coating ingredients" (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare two large (9x5") loaf pans by greasing. For coating ingredients, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon. Sprinkle half of the coating mixture on the bottom of greased loaf pans. Set remaining half of mixture aside for later.

In a large bowl, empty contents of your bread start and add eggs, oil, milk and sugar; mix well. Stir in cinnamon and vanilla. In a separate small bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour and pudding mix. Fold into start/egg mixture. Spread batter into prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle remaining half coating mixture over top. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes before removing bread from pans. Store cooled bread tightly covered.

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese

Last week I went to a conference for work and the lunch was catered by Macaroni Grill - a favorite of mine. I'm a sucker for Italian and most definitely comfort food. Whenever I feel the slightest bit of fall in the air, I immediately want pasta. This is a traditional baked pasta dish. Which with tradition typically means fat-laden. But hold on, this was adapted from Cooking Light, my trusty kitchen companion. You can assemble it ahead of time and then bake it after work served with a green salad for an easy dinner. Comfort that will not cause discomfort on the treadmill later!

1 lb package uncooked tube-shaped pasta (like ziti or penne)

1 lb spicy turkey Italian sausage links

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp tomato paste*

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 (14.5 oz) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and set aside.

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until brown, stirring to crumble. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture and basil. Place half of pasta mixture in a large casserole dish (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray). Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 8.

*One of the best conveniences I use in the kitchen is tomato paste. It adds color, depth of flavor and is inexpensive. I found these tubes of tomato paste when I worked at Williams-Sonoma and was hooked. I was even happier when I found them at the local grocery store for a fraction of the price! You can buy the sun-dried variety but you will pay more and you still get a lot of flavor from the regular variety. The best part about the tube is not wasting a can of tomato paste when a recipe only calls for a tablespoon or two.

Autumn Apple Crisp

We are finally entering my absolute favorite season! And thanks to my Dad we are in the thick of juicy, perfectly ripe homegrown apples. I found this recipe a while ago and after a little tweaking I think it's a jem. The sweet, crunchy topping is a perfect compliment to the slightly tart apples spiced with cinnamon. And trust me, there is plenty of the comforting topping...because let's admit it...it's the best part!

10 cups peeled apple slices

1 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups rolled oats (regular or quick)

2 cups flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine apple slices, sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla; mix well. Fill bottom of 9x13" baking pan with apple mixture.

In a medium bowl, combine oats and remaining ingredients. Blend thoroughly. Crumble over apple mixture. Press lightly over top. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (either vanilla or dulce de leche is nice).