Ever feel that you are running out of meal ideas with certain foods?  That happens to me sometimes so I try to step back and think about different ways to use that certain ingredient.  The last thing you want to have happen is that you get bored with a great food.  The food of choice today is “Tomato“.  I never used to like tomatoes but as I grew older I have found a new love for them.

I am not a huge fan of the tomato on just any given deli sandwich however but I do love tomatoes roasted, in sauces and on certain sandwiches with cheese.  I just compiled a simple list that I came up with on ways I like to use tomatoes.

Hopefully they will spark your interest to try them.

7 Ways to Use Tomatoes

1. No-Cook Pasta Sauce – In a large bowl combine several chopped tomatoes, a clove or two of minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Add olive oil to coat tomatoes. Add hot pasta and toss to coat pasta. Bits of fresh mozzarella can be added – they will get a bit melted  when tossed with the hot pasta. At the very end you can add red chili flakes, basil, and freshly shredded Parmesan are all tasty additions as well.
2. Grilled Tomatoes – Slice the tomatoes nice and thick, coat with a little olive oil – season with salt and pepper and grill for 4 mins on each side.  Yum!
3. Toasted Tomato and Pesto Sandwich – Spread two slices of your favorite sandwich bread with your favorite pesto (need a favorite? try this pesto), top one pesto-ed slice with several meaty slices of tomato, sprinkle with salt, sandwich, and enjoy!
4. Simple Salsa – Make your own fresh salsa by tossed chopped tomato with your choice of the following: minced red onion, minced garlic, finely chopped jalapeño or serrano chiles. Add salt to taste. A splash of red vinegar can be tasty, too.  Another addition can be some fresh avocado as well.



5. A Kicked Up BLT – This is a classic with a twist.  This takes a little bit of effort but is so worth it.  I like to take two slices of a thick homemade bread, toast it, top with a little butter and a nice piece of cheddar cheese. After that I add the fresh romaine lettuce, juicy red tomatoes and crisp bacon.  I top it with freshly ground pepper and enjoy!



6. In a Salad – Any salad of your choice – tomatoes are a great addition. Keep it simple and dress it just before serving.
7. Stuffed Tomatoes with Rice - This one is a great fun recipe on a cool day.  Scoop out the insides of the tomato.  To prepare the filling use cooked rice, oregano and ground beef ( or you can omit)  Top with fresh basil and mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

So there you have it!  My top 7 ways to kick up the regular tomato.  Let me know if you have any other great ways to kick up the tomato in the comments section.  I will be back tomorrow - Have a great Wednesday.

I am off to New York… and will blog from the BIG Apple on Friday!

Take care

zesty

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I love salsa!  That is a given so when I thought about a menu items for Sunday to pair with the coconut crusted salmon – I knew it was a summer salsa.  There is something about summer flavors with crisp fruit and sharp vibrant colors makes everyone happy.  I chose to pair both pineapple and mango for the salsa and give it a little bit with cilantro and red onion.  No one in our family are really big onion lovers so I toned down the red onion to avoid any discomfort.  I find it is not really that sharp with the sweetness of the fruit.  To finish off the flavor matching, I chose to add a dash of hot sauce and cracked black pepper.

Ever try hot sauce with fruit?

Ingredients

• 2 Cups of fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks
• 2 Cups fresh Mango, diced
• A little bit red onion, diced
• 1 Cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 Cup of extra virgin olive oil
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• Several dashes of your favorite hot sauce

Method

1. Put pineapple,mango, red onion and cilantro into a medium-sized bowl.
2. Add lime zest and juice, oil and hot sauce.
3. Toss well and let flavors mingle for at least one half hour before serving.
4. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: This works very well with any form of meat or even as a vegetarian dish.  It would work great with a stir fry topping or even with cous cous.

Wednesday is here and the week is half over.  It is hard to believe that summer is on the way.  The weekend was super hot and guess what… I did survive a day of roofing.  I am pretty confident in saying that I will never be a roofer full time and I now have a lot of respect for those who do it as a trade.  Have a fantastic hump day and I will talk to you on Friday.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Monday!  It feels like I have been away for a long time which I guess is not that far from the truth.  Spinach and Mushroom Pasta was my last post since I had a special guest sit in on Friday with Sippity Sup.  This weekend was action packed and full of cooking.  A while back I used to cook on Sunday’s for the whole week including lunches ( for work ) and dinners in the evening.  I am not quite sure why I ever stopped doing that but I will chalk it up to being a bit too busy.

But I was talking to Mrs. Zesty earlier on the weekend and said” Let’s bring back cooking Sundays.  Sunday cooking was REBORN.  I will not get into great details as to what I prepared as you will see through the week and next but it was a ton of fun especially since Zesty Jr. was by my side for a couple of dishes.

This dish I want to share with you today is a simple dish combining a little Mexican and a small bit of India with the use of a few simple ingredients.

As I look back on my blogging career, I notice a pattern; everything I cook is super simple and quick.  I wonder if that means I am SIMPLE.  Anyway, let’s not go there.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Jasmine Rice
• 1 1/2 Cups Water
• 1 1/2 Cups Salsa ( I used store bought )
• 1 Tbsp. Cumin
• 1/2 lb. Extra Lean Ground Beef
• 1 Carrot ( chopped)
• 1 Cup Mushrooms ( chopped)
• 1 Celery stalk ( chopped)
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Prepare rice according to directions and set aside once cooked.





2. In a large preheated sauce pan over medium heat, combine olive oil, celery and carrots; cook for about 7 minutes



3. Add mushrooms and cook another 3 minutes



4. Next, toss in the ground beef, cumin, salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink







5. Add salsa and let simmer 5 minutes





6. Stir in cooked rice and mix thoroughly.



7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When using mushrooms with a meat dish, be sure to cook them prior to adding any meat as they will release a lot of water and will not allow the meat to brown.

This was a super fun weekend and I am looking forward to doing the Sunday cooking next week as well.  Holler at me if you have any suggestions/recommendations for the week’s dishes.  I am looking for dishes that reheat well and pack up in a resealable container well.  I would love to hear your ideas.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Friday!!  WHOOOOO HOOOOOO.  As I type this post I am stranded in the house as the driveway is completely filled in from a snow drift.  No big deal as our snow removal guy is en route.  This gives me just enough time to share this delicious, quick and easy chicken recipe with you and kick off Friday with a bang.

Ingredients

• 2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Cup of Mushrooms ( sliced)
• 1 1/2 Cups Salsa
• Mozzarella cheese
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Black Pepper

Method

1. Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees
2. In a preheated sauce pan add the olive oil and begin to brown the chicken.



3. Add the mushrooms and let cook down for about 3 minutes.



4. Turn the chicken and brown the other side and then transfer to baking pan.



5. Top the chicken and mushrooms with the salsa and top with the cheese.







6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and cooked through.



7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Over cooking a boneless chicken breast can really turn into a bad experience.  Make sure to just cook it through until no longer pink.  Remember that boneless does not take as long as bone in too cook.

Do you Remember

Remember back when I baked homemade beer bread.  It was very good but had a funny after taste and many of you tried the recipe and some suggested the same problem with the amount of baking powder.  Well I was concerned about that so I made the recipe again last night and tweaked the 4 1/2 Teaspoons of baking powder to 3 Teaspoons.  It was much better.  I also halved the amount of melted butter on top and it was still delicious.

Here are a couple of snapshots of the finished product.

I hope you have a great Friday and I will talk to you on Monday.

Take care

zesty

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Ever have a craving for Nachos but you are tired of the store bought salsa?  Not anymore!  Try this super simple salsa recipe and you will be eating more nacho chips than you know what to do with.  I love salsa in many different forms and on a variety of foods.

In the past I have used it on chicken nachos and most of all I love it on stunning quesadillas.  It is really easy to make and stores very well in the fridge as well.  Let me know what you think of this quick addition to any Mexican Fiesta.

Ingredients

• 8 Cups tomatoes, chopped finely
• 1½ Cups onions, coarsely chopped
• ½ Cup green pepper, coarsely chopped
• ½ Cup red pepper, coarsely chopped
• 6 -7 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ Cup coriander, finely chopped
• 2/3 Cup red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp black pepper

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce the heat to medium once it comes to a boil.
3. Simmer, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
4. This tomato salsa recipe makes 6 – 2 cup jars.
5. ENJOY!

This is really that simple and yet tastes so good.  Feel free to play around with the flavors and add some heat if you would like.  I like to keep out the jalapenos in case the crowd is not a big fan.

Zesty Tip: If you want to store the salsa in the fridge, simple sterilize some glass bottles and then add the salsa to the bottle, seal it and add it to a boiling water bath for about 10 minutes.  That will allow it to store in the fridge for a while.

I hope everybody has a great Friday and we will see you back on Monday.

Take care

zesty

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Nachos are a fun appetizer, or a perfect first course for a Mexica-themed party or like at our house – the main course! Nachos are easy to customize with a variety of toppings.

These chicken nachos are absolutely delicious – don’t count on having any leftovers!

Really, there are three serious ingredients to consider when creating the perfect plate of nachos and those are chips, cheese, and the toppings.

The Chips

I prefer to go with the white corn tortillia and I often get the triangle shaped chips because there is more surface area for the cheese and toppings. Some thing to consider when choosing your chips are the level of salt and the thickness of the chip. You do not want the chip too salty that you cannot taste all the other ingredients and have it over power your experience. As for the thickness, you don’t want the chip to thin where it gets all soggy…. that is a shame! And also you do not want the opposite where it is so very thick that all you have are dry chips.

The Cheese

I like to get a high end cheddar, monterey jack or pepper jack cheese and shred it myself with the coarse grater. Some of the pre packaged cheese is often grated too thin. I also found that buying the cheap no name brand cheeses – they are alot greasier than the others so for that reason I steer clear of the no name cheeses for my nachos.

The Toppings

I am pretty sure I vary slightly from the average nacho guru. I prefer chicken on my nachos as you can tell by the title. To prepare the chicken, you can use left over chicken breast, thighs, or use boneless skinless ( really whatever you have on hand – but i like to use white meat again just for the moisture content). I like to also use a combination of jalepeno peppers or chilies, green peppers and red onion and then once out of the oven top with fresh tomatoes.

As you can see, moisture content for me is huge when making nachos. The last thing you want is a soggy nahco without any CRUNCH! Next time you are craving nachos, try this technique.

Ingredients

• 2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons taco or burrito seasoning
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons mild or hot salsa
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 small can/jar chopped green chiles (hot), drained
• 1/4 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup of chopped green peppers
• 1/4 cup of chopped red onion
• 1 bag white corn tortilla chips
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack or Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup tomato, seeded and chopped
• bowls of salsa, sour cream, and guacamole for dipping

Method:

1. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a medium saucepan, combine chicken, taco seasoning, water, and salsa over mdium heat. Cook mixture until chicken is heated through and sauce is well-blended.
2. Remove mixture from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Often times I do this ahead of time just to be ready.
3. To cook the nachos, I use a pizza stone and I usually preheat the stone for about 15 minutes on 400 degrees. Then I take out the pizza stone with an oven mitt ( cause it will be hot… ) and start to place the nachos on the stone. I try and get the nachos close together but not overlap them. Once placed on the stone, I sprinkle a little cheese over the chips and then place the chicken mixture on( making sure not to place an extra liquid on the chips ). After the chicken, I go with the peppers, chilies, and onions spreading a liberal amount over the chips. Once complete I add the cheese. Another tip I try to follow is not to make the chips disappear with the cheese ( I spread a nice amount but don’t over do it ). If your having a large crowd I tend to make multiple batches because I don’t like to layer the chips due to the soggy possibility.
4. I then bake them on the middle rack at 400 degrees until cheese is melted through and the chips start to crisp around the edges. I then top with tomatoes, and green onions and serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Enjoy!

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Last night we had a real craving for salmon.  A few years back I was watching the food network and local chef Michael Smith as he created this coconut crusted salmon dish. 

As I watched it - I copied the recipe down on my notepad and tried it the very next day.  It was delicious! 

So every now and again when we are having a salmon craving I sometimes throw this recipe in the mix.  It is a great combination of sweetness with the salmon.  In my mind, the salsa really sets it apart and makes it a real show stopper and crowd pleaser. 

The presentation with the salsa on top of the carmelized coconut makes my mouth water.  Not too mention the salsa calls for ” juice of a lime” one of my favorite fruits. Hence the theme of my website and my name.   I hope you enjoy the recipe and feel free to try your own flavours in the salsa and let me know how you made out. 

Caribbean Coconut Crusted Salmon

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups of shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 4 x 6 oz salmon filets, skin removed
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put coconut into a freezer bag. Drop in the salmon filets one at a time and toss to coat. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Serve with Caribbean Salsa ( recipe below )

Caribbean Salsa

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks
• 1 x small red onion, diced
• 1 cup of fresh cilantro, minced
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• Several dashes of your favourite hot sauce

 Directions:

1. Put pineapple, red onion and cilantro into a medium-sized bowl. Add lime zest and juice, oil and hot sauce. Toss well and let flavours mingle for at least one half hour before serving.

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