Baked Tomatoes and Chickpeas with Feta

Fast and friendly weeknight meals are on my radar these days. What I love about this dish is that it uses up a good amount of tomatoes. Our garden is being very generous in that department right now.

Don't have fresh tomatoes? You could easily substitute canned.

Add a chunk of crusty bread and you've got a tasty vegetarian dinner with enough leftovers for lunch.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Baked Tomatoes and Chickpeas with Feta
Inspired by this recipe from the Kitchn

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 pounds of tomatoes, any variety, diced
3 minced garlic gloves
2 teaspoons dried oregano (or use 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano)
3 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces crumbled Feta cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat the oil in a large, oven-safe
skillet. Add tomatoes and cook,
stirring, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Stir in chickpeas, oregano salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and place in oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chickpeas have softened and sauce is thickened a bit. Remove cover and top with Feta cheese.

Let bake 5 minutes more, or until cheese melts. Ladle into bowls and serve with bread for dipping.

Half-Day Chili Sauce

One of the best things about my neighborhood is that us moms stick together. And when school lets out early for the monthly "half-day" teacher inservice trainings, it's good to have a plan for how to fill those hours when the kids are usually in class.

Molly supplied the idea and the recipe for our most recent free afternoon. Luckily, Jeannie has a garden that won't stop producing tomatoes, I had a bunch of poblanos and onions and we were all ready and able to get chopping — and talking.

Our kiddos were just happy to be running around outside together all day.

Molly's recipe is from David Letterman's mom, Dorothy. (I never knew she wrote a cookbook!)

But with all the tomatoes and extra peppers we had, our version got tweaked a bit, and we nearly doubled the recipe. We divided everything among three pots for the final cooking process so that each of us had one to take home.

The instructions for this chili sauce are pretty simple and you can easily make adjustments according to what and how much you have on hand.

The best part? Getting some time with friends to chat and catch up while chopping and deseeding the peppers and tomatoes.

This sauce tastes so good on its own. You can use it to top all kinds of grilled meats or burgers. Molly uses the chili sauce as a braising liquid for a roast. I added some to a meatloaf. Let us know how you put this yummy sauce to work in your kitchen!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Half-Day Chili Sauce
20 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
6 to 8 large onions, chopped
10 medium green bell peppers, chopped
2 to 4 hot peppers (use your favorite, such as jalapeño or poblano)
3 tablespoons salt
2 cups granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cider vinegar

If you're not sure how to peel a tomato, follow these steps: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Score the bottom of each tomato with an X. Fill a large bowl with ice and cover with water. Once water boils, put a few tomatoes into the boiling water at a time. Let sit for just a minute, then transfer to ice water.

Remove tomatoes from ice bath after a minute or so. Starting at the X, peel skins off the tomatoes. They should slide off fairly easily.

Peel your onions and cut them in chunks. Cut up the peppers, too.

Working in batches, pulse the tomatoes in a food processor or blender until well chopped but not mushy. Transfer tomatoes to a pot. Then chop onions and peppers in the food processor and add to the pot with the tomatoes.

Add the spices, sugar and vinegar to the pot. All the laughter in the room from the fun conversations you'll have while making this chili sauce with friends is sure to add some sweetness, too.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour or more until desired consistency.

Let cool completely, then transfer any sauce you won't use right away to ziplock, quart size freezer bags. You can freeze the sauce until you are ready to use it.

Slow Cooker Tomato Soup

The spring has been touch-and-go here in Seattle. One day is 80 and sunny, and the next is 55 with drizzle. On one such grey day, I had a hankering for soup. I've been meaning to make tomato soup for infinity, so I seized the opportunity. I was also hoping that making one last batch of soup would jinx the weather into turning warm again. Today's forecast is 79 and sunny, so I think it worked. You're welcome, Seattle.

Next time the sun creeps behind the clouds, pull your slow cooker out of its summer hibernation and make a batch of this Slow Cooker Tomato Soup.

Let's get (slow!) cooking!
Erin

Slow Cooker Tomato Soup
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

2 tablespoons butter
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained, juice reserved
1 onion, minced
1 cup chopped carrots
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons flour
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup half and half
Pepper
Chopped basil for garnish, optional

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add drained tomatoes, onion, carrots, brown sugar, tomato paste, and salt. Saute until softened and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 15 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup broth, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Place tomato mixture into the slow cooker with reserved tomato juice, an additional 2 cups broth, and bay leaves. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, until tomatoes start to break down.

Puree with an immersion blender or in batches in the regular blender. Stir in half and half and remaining 1 cup broth if desired, depending on how thick you like your soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil.

Halibut with Tomato, Orange & Olives

My husband has hit on an eating plan (thanks to a story he heard on NPR) that is working wonders for his weight maintenance. The program involves fasting twice a week and eating no more than 500 calories on those days.

With my DH back down to his fighting weight, I do my best to make light dinners that he can eat on his fasting days.

This halibut dish is one of my go-tos. The ingredient list is short, the prep time is quick and it is one of the most flavorful things I know how to make. I usually cook this in summer when tomatoes are plentiful – and available in a variety of colors – and I can grill the halibut outside, but my local market had some especially nice cherry tomatoes this week. And since I wish I were back to my own pre-holiday figure, eating healthfully is top of mind for me, too.

In the past I've used capers in the sauce, but my boys don't like them. This time I tried Kalamata olives. The vinegary zing of the olives added just the right contrast to the sweetness of the tomatoes. And let's be honest – this tomato sauce would be great on pasta (think Angel Hair) too!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Halibut with Tomato, Orange & Olives
(Note: You can easily double the sauce recipe in the same size skillet)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes or 1 12 ounce container of "gourmet medley" tomatoes
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup pitted and sliced Kalamata olives
1 or 2 teaspoons brine/vinegar from the Kalamata olive jar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pound halibut fillets, skin removed
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian leaf parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and just beginning to brown. Reduce heat to medium. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until they begin to break down. This should take about 20 minutes.

Once most of the tomatoes have burst, add orange juice, olives and olive brine, salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook until sauce thickens, between 5 and 8 minutes.

As the sauce thickens, heat remaining olive oil in a skillet or grill pan. Season halibut with salt and pepper to taste. Grill halibut filets about 3 or 4 minutes per side. You can also sear the halibut in the grill pan to get those pretty grill marks, and then finish cooking the fish in the oven at 375 degrees, which I sometimes do.

Top halibut with tomato sauce and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Tomato-Avocado Quinoa Salad

When Erin introduced Andrea and me as the new "bringers of hot dinner," she mentioned that I like to experiment with vegan cuisine. True. One of my favorite new cookbooks is Angela Liddon's The Oh She Glows Cookbook.

But sometimes I don't like how much work goes into cooking vegan. That's why I like this easy, yummy tomato-avocado quinoa salad and why it is a weekly must-make, must-eat Chez George. My husband, younger daughter and I love to have this for lunch or dinner. (Let that sink in. My husband and six year-old eat quinoa!) It's an easy lunch to pack for work. And it's healthy and filling as quinoa is an ancient grain and complete protein. It's also gluten free.

You'll find other quinoa recipes here at Hot Dinner Happy Home. There's Greek Quinoa Salad. There's Warm Quinoa Salad with Spinach and Mushrooms. There's Quinoa with Corn and Black Beans. Check out our vegetarian section for more.

XOXO,
Amy

Tomato-Avocado Quinoa Salad
Quinoa
Cherry tomatoes
Avocado
Cracked pepper
Salt
Olive oil

Cook quinoa according to the package directions. We always cook a full bag at a time, because between Jeff, Penny and I it doesn't take long to eat it up.

Slice cherry tomatoes in half

Cut up avocado.

Depending on how hungry you are, put a cup or two of quinoa into a bowl. The quinoa can be warm, room temp or cold. Jeff prefers it cold. I like it all ways. Top with tomatoes, avocado, cracked pepper, salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Eat and feel awesome about the healthy choice you made to fuel your body.