Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Yield: Serves 4-6

ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds Roma tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Salt and pepper, to taste, for seasoning tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Dash of red pepper flakes
1 cup freshly chopped basil
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth (you can use chicken broth)
Salt and pepper, to taste

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the tomatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast for about 45 minutes.

2. In a large stockpot, heat the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes, fresh basil, and vegetable broth. Stir in the oven roasted tomatoes. Cook for about 30 minutes over medium-low heat.

3. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the stockpot, or transfer soup to a food processor or blender to blend. The soup should be smooth, with a few tomato chunks. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve warm.

Note-be careful when transferring the soup to a blender or food processor. You may want to wait until it is at room temperature to blend.

Almond Roca (toffee)

1 lb salted butter
1 lb white sugar (2 1/4 C)

Melt butter in a heavy cast iron or steel pot (no aluminum pots) over medium-low heat. Add sugar to melted butter. Continuously stir over medium-low heat. The mixture will go through several phases of consistency and color. It will get yellow and frothy, then it gets a little more brown and the butter separates from the sugar mixture. Keep stirring until the butter is incorporated again. As soon as they come back together, pour onto a cookie sheet. It should be the color of caramel, or peanut butter. (Stir continuously for around 20 minutes total.)

Pour into a cookie sheet. Let harden.
Sprinkle semi-sweet chocolate chips on the top. When melted, spread over entire pan. Sprinkle finely chopped almonds over the chocolate.

Break with a butter knife to enjoy bite size pieces.

Pumpkin Chocolate chips cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet
• Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.
Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

Candied Nuts

2 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups whole almonds or pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon




Lightly beat the egg white; add water, and beat until frothy but not stiff. Add the nuts, and stir until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat, and spread evenly on the prepared pan.





Bake for 1 hour at 250 degrees on a lightly greased 10x15 jellyroll pan, stirring occasionally, until golden. Allow to cool, then store nuts in airtight containers.

Sweet Peanut Brittle

1 cup  sugar

1/2 cup  light corn syrup

1 Tbsp.  butter

2 cups  PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts

1 tsp.  baking soda

1 tsp.  vanilla

4 squares  BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

1/4 cup  PLANTERS Creamy Peanut Butter

 

SPRAY large baking sheet with cooking spray. Microwave sugar and corn syrup in large glass microwaveable bowl on HIGH 5 min. Stir in butter and peanuts. Microwave 3 to 4 min. or until pale golden brown. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. (Mixture will foam.) Spread onto prepared baking sheet. Cool completely. Break into pieces.
MICROWAVE chocolate in 1-cup glass measuring cup on HIGH 1 to 2 min. or until chocolate is melted when stirred. Add peanut butter; stir until melted. Dip half of each candy piece in chocolate mixture; scrape bottom against edge of cup to remove excess chocolate. Place on sheet of foil or waxed paper. Refrigerate 20 min. or until chocolate is firm. 

Chocolate Cookie Bark

2 Tbsp.  PLANTERS Creamy Peanut Butter

1 pkg.  (6 squares) BAKER'S White Chocolate, melted

10 OREO Cookies, coarsely crushed, divided

1 pkg.  (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

 

ADD peanut butter to white chocolate; mix well. Stir half the crushed cookies into each bowl of melted chocolate.
DROP spoonfuls of the chocolate mixtures onto waxed paper-covered baking sheet, alternating colors of chocolates. Swirl with knife.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. 

Brittany's Best Brownies

1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in sauce pan. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa and sugar until well blended. Add eggs and stir just until blended. Do not over stir. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add to cocoa mixture and stir well. Stir in vanilla. Pour into buttered 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until edges look firm.