Sour Cream and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Believe it or not, this is adapted slightly from a Weight Watchers recipe!  You'd never know it, though.  


I made this as part of the Welcome Home/Football Party that we had over the weekend.  I felt sort of obligated to prepare some lighter fare, since most of the other food was pretty heavy, and because I currently only have one pair of jeans that I can comfortably sit down in. <hangs head in embarrassment>

Maeby perched in my (clean) laundry basket, supervising everything going on in the kitchen.

You'll need:


15 oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained (approximately 2 cups)
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup basil, fresh
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, fresh
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper or to taste


Place all of your ingredients in a food processor, mini chopper, or blender.  Let 'er rip, and puree until smooth.  

Make sure to taste it after pureeing.  I almost always feel like this needs more salt.

It ends up being a light pink color.

This dip is really good with some fresh veggies, pita wedges, crackers, and on and on.  It's a nice, light alternative to the usual sour cream and onion dip that often gets served at tailgating parties.

Caprese Salad Pasta

This was really intended to be made with leftovers from a Caprese salad (see previous post), but can definitely be made without the help of leftovers.  That being said, I have never, ever been this excited about eating leftovers.


This recipe isn't very exact, so you can modify it as you see fit based on how many people your'e serving, your personal preferences, and so on.


You'll need:


Tomatoes
Fresh mozzarella
Basil
Salt and pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
(Or substitute leftover Caprese salad for the above ingredients)
2 cloves garlic
Your favorite pasta (I used mini penne because they're adorable!)


Separately, dice your tomatoes and mozzarella and set them aside.  


Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil.  Once it comes to a boil, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.


Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet or sauce pan.  Mince the garlic and add to the pan.  Once the garlic is fragrant, add the diced tomatoes.  Allow them to simmer away.  Give the tomatoes a squish with the back of a spoon periodically.  The tomatoes will cook down and release their juices, making a nice simple sauce.  Toward the end of the cooking time, toss in some basil (either whole leaves, or chopped/torn/shredded/etc.).  


You can then add the cooked, drained pasta to the pan with the tomatoes.  Toss it up a bit, and then add the diced mozzarella cheese.  The cheese will likely melt a bit and become pretty stringy, and gooey.  It really is a thing of beauty.

Add a little more fresh basil on top, and you're good to go.

Chunky Caprese Salad

From approximately April-December, there are a multitude of farmer's markets across Baltimore City.  Fortunately for us, one of them is located just a stone's throw away from our apartment and operates on Sundays.  We've been enjoying the market all summer, buying a variety of fresh vegetables and fruit, delicious prepared food, and doing some quality people watching.  

Though I really am welcoming the onset of autumn--I'm entirely over the summer heat and humidity--it makes me a little sad to realize that the delicious fresh produce that has been so readily available over the summer will no longer be available, or at least not available and as tasty as it is now.  

Today we managed to make off with some grape tomatoes, a ball of fresh mozzarella, and some ice cream!

Anyway, there's nothing too fancy about this dish here; just a tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad made with the spoils from our trip to the farmers' market this morning.  Despite it's lack of inventiveness, it sure is pretty.  I call it "Chunky Caprese Salad" because I just kind of chunk everything up and throw it in a bowl.  It's the lazy person's version of the classic recipe.


You'll need:


Tomatoes (we went with grape tomatoes since the full sized heirlooms weren't looking so hot today, and have regular red ones and some green guys that I'm not sure what variety they are)
Fresh mozzarella
Fresh basil, torn or chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Salt and pepper


Wash and dry your tomatoes.  Slice them in half (or if you're using bigger, full-size tomatoes you can cut them into big slices or wedges... do whatever you'd like!) and place them in a bowl.  


Slice (or dice, or whatever!) your mozzarella and add it to the tomatoes.  Add in the fresh basil.  Toss everything together.  Drizzle everything with the olive oil, and give it a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Toss again.

Summer in a bowl =)

You can let it hang out in the fridge or a while, or eat it as is.