Dinner tonight: Tomatoes from the trash

Did I ever tell you the story about the time I fed my kids a tomato out of the trash??  I learned a lesson and found a really yummy dinner in the process.

I was cleaning my kitchen in Juneau sometime this year, and came across two Roma tomatoes on the counter in a plastic bag.  One was really gross, and the other was perfectly fine.  The bad one wasn't touching the good one, but I decided that since I knew I wasn't going to use the good one, I would just throw them both away.  Darwin bought the tomatoes and he was gone on a trip somewhere, and I don't really care for tomatoes...so I justified my decision.  I was pretty sure I wouldn't use that tomato.

Several hours later, I decided to make dinner.  I pulled a jar of Ragu Cheesy! Roasted Garlic Sauce out of my pantry.  I think I bought it thinking it was Alfredo sauce.  I wanted to have Chicken Alfredo for dinner.  It wasn't Alfredo sauce, but it had a recipe on the back that called for chicken and noodles, so I decided to make that.  The only other ingredients were olive oil and A TOMATO!  I dug the tomato out of the trash (it was still in the plastic bag and still not touching the rotten tomato) and chopped it up and had it in the dinner.

That dinner is now one of my favorite dinners to make.  Everyone likes it and it is really easy and quick.  I also learned not to throw away perfectly good food, because you can't ever tell when you might need it!  haha!

Here is the recipe:

• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1/4 lbs.) cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 jar (1 lb.) Ragu ® Cheesy! Roasted Garlic Parmesan Sauce
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 8 ounces rotelle, penne or gemelli pasta, cooked and drained

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and lightly brown chicken. Stir in Roasted Garlic Parmesan Sauce and tomato.
2. Simmer covered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Spoon chicken and sauce over hot rotelle and garnish, if desired, with crisp-cooked crumbled bacon and chopped fresh basil.

Preparation time: 20 Minute(s)
Cook time: 20 Minute(s)
Servings: 4

Sweet and Spicy Meatballs

I am putting this recipe on here so a.) I won't loose it again... and b.) you can enjoy it too. I got this recipe from my friend Ketra in Maui (I miss you!) and it is one of those "Oh no! It's 5 o'clock and I haven't got anything planned for dinner" meals. It only takes three ingredients...and rice or a baked potato...and about 25 minutes.

#1) an 11.5/12 oz. jar of Pepper & Onion Relish (could be called bell pepper relish also)
#2) 1 jar (about the same size) of Orange Marmalade
#3) 1 large bag of frozen meatballs (regular or swedish style...italian doesn't go too well with this)

If the meatballs are fully cooked, just dump them and the relish and jam into a pot and simmer it for 20-25 minutes (while the rice cooks). If the aren't already fully cooked, then fully cook them however it says on the package, and then simmer it all for 15 minutes. THAT"S IT!

We eat ours over jasmine rice, but you could eat it over a baked potato also.

That's all for now...although I did take my math final this morning and I think I did ok on it (high B low A...I'll let you know)...we'll see. I have a photography final tomorrow (ie: bring some food to share and see everyone's final photos) and I have about 4 hours of reading, two assignments, a 4 page paper, and a final to finish by friday for my Music Appreciation class. I'll be so glad to have that done!

The salmon and what became of her

Darwin went fishing before work on Thursday morning and caught a silver salmon. We didn't measure it, but it was a really good sized one. This is him with his catch.

Tonight we had the salmon for dinner. It was pretty good...and I am not a salmon eater. I have found though, that if I cook the fish, I like it way more than if anyone else does. In fact until last week, I hated salmon. I've tried it several times, several different ways, but I can never eat more than a taste. Last week I cooked the earlier salmon that Darwin caught, and I liked it then as well. It was fried. This was a stew. I thought I would put the recipe down for it, if any of y'all would like to try it.

Salmon Stew

4 slices bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 large potatoes, diced
1 large can (28 oz.) tomatoes
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 whole bay leaves
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 lbs salmon fillets cut into 2-inch pieces

In a 4- or 5-quart pan, fry bacon over medium heat until browned;add onion and potatoes to bacon and drippings and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, or until onion is limp. Add tomatoes and their liquid and break up tomatoes with a spoon. Stir in water, lemon juice, Worcestershire, bay leaves, garlic, salt, and pepper; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add salmon, stirring gently to mix; cover and continue cooking for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serves four to five.